As he sees the 4 of them jumping on him, Winchy remains calm first of all making sure that they wouldn't be able to reach him with a decent blow. He quickly knocks one guy out with a punch and an elbow to his face while the others slash his arms with little effect. He receives a weak blow of chains in the back and turns around to face the three that are still up.

"One down. Whose next? You still tink you can beat me?"

Since the answer to that is some punk trying to stab him, he just punches the guy right out and the poor man falls ... on his own knife.

"Don't you see that you hurt yourselves more than you hurt me?"

The bums run away in panic when they see blood on the ground.

Winchy is pissed by their behavior... "Don' leave your friend 'ere like dat!! 'e's 'urt!!"

Well the troll understands that he has to move out of there quickly and so he does calmly, as though nothing out of the ordinary has happened, avoiding the looks of bystanders. His nice black jacket and his shirt are now cut in two places and he's really pissed by that too. "Fragging punks", he mumbles while he brushes some dust off, looking for a cab.

Slacker:

The round of questioning at the station doesn't really take very long - they just make the usual inquiries, and don't seem particularly motivated in finding the culprit that burned down your apartment. The officer in charge makes some vague promises about setting upon the case immediately, but you would bet dollars to doughnuts that he'll toss your file in with the rest of the investigations that Lone Star considers unprofitable to pursue as soon as you walk away.

You take a cab back to your apartment to see if there's anything that can be salvaged, but soon discover an hour later that the fire had pretty much toasted everything except the illegal gear that you keep in your car. While you're on your way out, you run into the land lady, who expresses the token condolences before handing you an envelope. She tells you that a man had asked her to deliver it to you shortly after you left with the cop earlier that day. You rip it open after she leaves, and find the following letter:

Seeing the signature on the note, Slacker lets his thoughts slip through his lips. "Bastard!"

The land lady turns around, a little startled be the vehemence with which Slacker cursed.

Looking up and seeing her still there, he remembers that he wanted to ask her something before she leaves. "Hey, wait up for a second."

When he catches up to her, he asks "So, do you have another apartment for me to stay in or am I just out of luck? I'd paid you in advance for the next several months. So if you don't have a place for me, I am not leaving here 'till I get it back."

Even while she is answering him, Slacker is cursing his brother and himself for not realizing what the 'P' symbol on the floor had meant as soon as he saw it. I must not have gotten as much sleep as I thought I had. How the hell is he always finding me so easily anyways?, he thinks to himself. One of these days, I seriously need to search him out give him his dues. Smirking a bit at that last thought, he knows all too well he'll never get around to it. Just too freaking lazy.

The land lady shakes her head. "Sorry honey, but all the other apartments in the building are occupied right now. Can't help ya."

She shrugs. "Life's a bitch, eh? Maybe you could go find a place to stay with one of your friends until you can find another apartment."

She utters this last statement with mild amusement in her eyes - it's obvious that she doesn't think you even have any friends.

Slacker first tries calling Caitlin. When she answers he says "Hey Caitlin," pointedly using her name rather than Ice Queen since he knows she dislikes. "Uh....there was an....um...'accident'...yeah an accident at my apartment while I was at the meet. Do you think I could crash at your place for a night or two while I find somewhere else to stay?"

Winchy hops in the taxi and talks with the ork driving him to his apartment. Almost as a joke, he was gonna ask wether he had contacts in the underground, but finally didn't bother.

15 minutes later he was home and he evaluated the dammage to his clothes. Darn I'll 'ave to fix dis or get a new one. At least, the money will be good so it's wort' it.

He first checks sports' results on the telecom and then a quick look at the latest news while changing and eating some. Back in his good old jacket and his overused jeans, he hits the streets, takes the bus and goes back to 'his real home', the barrens.

As he is walking toward the building he's squatting, he sees his 'roommate' coming back with a platic bag and some food.

"Hey T'ick Skull, good to see you spent de money on food dis time."

Once they're inside, and the tall troll starts to cook a soymeal of some sort. "Glad you got de water 'eater to work, man", Winchy says with a honest smile. A little bit later, Winchy asks him about the Ork Underground. "So I'll 'ave to go down dere for some time, dunno if you 'ave any friends dere dat you 'noe, maybe?"

Henry furrows his brow. "Eh, Ork Underground. Surry Winchy, but I is stay away from dat place. You should, too. It dangerous down dere."

He looks a bit depressed that he can't be of any more help.

"Dat's alright buddy. I'll tell you 'ow it looks like when I'm back. You know I can defend myself so no worries, I know what I'm doin'."

Later in the evening, after going to a bar and paying a drink to Henry, Winchy calls MJ, an ork fixer who's likely to deal with the Underground.

He leaves a message for him:
"'ey MJ, it's Winchy 'ere. I know you're probably busy, but I'd like to meet with you at some point tonight or tomorrow. I'm going down in the underground soon and I was wondering if you'd 'ave any info. Maybe we can do dis over phone too, but I 'noe you like to 'noe what's goin' on in the shadows and I got somet'in' dat could be of some interest."

Three minutes after you send the call, the LED on your telecom flashes red. You pick up the phone and hear MJ's gruff voice.

"Yeah, I've had some dealings down in the Underground. Let me know what you want to find out, and I'll give you a fair price for an answer if I know it. Dante's in thirty minutes?"

"Sure t'ing, meet you dere. Dey let me in dere more easily dan da Penumbra" Winchy says jokingly.

30 minutes later, the troll's getting used to the music he finds weak and uninteresting while looking for his ork friend.

Winchy:

Only one word can describe the place that calls itself Dante's Inferno: wild. When you walk into the club, you come face to face with a large room illuminated by a rainbow of roving disco lights and dozens of ravers grinding flesh against each other on the dance floor. The latest pop song thunders out from speakers expertly concealed all over the room, filling the atmosphere with music that seems to come from the air itself. You watch in shock as a young elven girl sidles up to you, bats her eyes, and flashes you at point blank range before giggling and running off.

Pushing and shoving your way past the mass of bodies in motion, you make your way over to the bar. You find MJ sitting on a stool with an umbrella drink on the counter and an empty seat next to him. He spots you a second later, smiles, and beckons you to come over.

"Winchy, my trollish friend!" he exclaims amiably. "What can I do for you on this fine night?"

Winchy makes his way into the crowd not giving one inch to whoever would push him around a bit. He's like a large refrigerator moving in a straight line through the unpleasant growd of dancers.

Did I just see a boob or what?, he asks himself. Man 'uman girls are so tiny!, he laughs interiorely.

Winchy finally finds his contact and sits next to him, trying to ignore the place and its annoyingly happy atmosphere.

After ordering a random, glowing, blue drink - he doesn't really care -, he quickly gets to business. He tries to avoid compromissing words in a public place like this, although the loud surrondings are gonna cover most of the conversation anyways.

"Ok so I 'ave a job down dere like you might 'ave guessed. 'umans will be part of de team and I've never been dere myself. So any kind of map would be 'elpin' us out to start wit'. Also, more important, do you 'noe of anyone who might be willin' to 'elp us dere? I'm askin' 'cause given what we be doin', we might find ... watcha call it ... sympat'isers. "

MJ takes a sip from his drink through a straw. He pauses for a moment to appreciate the flavor before responding.

"Well, I don't really have any maps that you wouldn't be able to find in a local library, but those probably wouldn't be too useful to you. I know people down there, but I can't help you unless you tell me what sort of people you're looking for."

"I got no problem wit' dat but I'd rather talk about it somewhere else.. y'noe."

Winchy tastes his flashy drink and is intrigued by it. It's actually not that bad, it's quite strong too, which is good.

MJ raises an eyebrow. "I never thought you to be the paranoid type. They got private rooms here, but it'll run you about half a grand to secure one."

Paranoia is anot'er word for survival in de shadows, Winchy thinks. The subject is not too confidential anyways this time so he'll just ignore privacy issues for now. He also doesn't want to piss off the guy who might be helping him with details like that.

Winchy leans towards MJ and talks in a very low voice that's just distinguishable amongst the music all around them.

"Well 'ave you 'eard of de Ork Integration Alliance? We be 'elpin' someone in dere wit' private matters dat better be kept quiet I'm guessin'. " He sits back up to continue. "Anyways, whoever in favor of dat are on our side. I dunno what's your opinion on dis but it seems to me like a good cause. Might be able to find orks on our side even in de U, I'm 'opin'. If not, we can pretend we're dere for a different biz of course. Do you t'ink you got someone dat could 'elp us?"

"That's interesting and all, but I sorta meant what type of people you want me to hook you up with," MJ says with a grin.

"Well, first off de best t'ing we can 'ope for would be to 'ave some place to stay at night, y'noe. Some place safe. Dat would be good. Next, anyone willing to show us around a little bit might 'elp too, but I dunno. We need someone who would be willing to 'elp us for small t'ings and tell us more about what's safe to do and where it's safe to go. The small t'ings dat you need to 'noe just like when people from outside Redmond get into de barrens for de first time.. dere life is at risk. We could avoid dat wit' someone on our side. 'tis risky too, cause if we can't trust 'im enuff, 'e might plot in our backs. 'tis why I told you about the rest. If dey 'noe de 'umans are friends and not just walking credsticks, dey may 'elp us better."

Caitlin winces slightly when she gets Slacker's call. "Damn. Hope you were able to save most of your gear. My place? Um, that would be a... bad idea. My place at the moment is a dingy little hellhole near the Barrens. There wouldn't be enough room or privacy for two people. Not to mention, your car would probably be jacked 10 minutes after you parked it. Now, I'm not blowing you off. If you need a loan for a hotel for a few nights, I'll help you out. Even better, why don't you show up at the Hellfire, 8:30-ish or so? I'm going to talk with Korbin, and probably meet with our whole group after that. We are getting a sizeably advance for this job, so if anything, you could upgrade your accomodations. When we get back, I know I'm going to go looking for a better place."

After talking with Slacker, Caitlin also calls Warden and Winchy, to let them know to meet at the Hellfire as well. She mentally chastises herself for not setting up a time for them to get together and plan right after the meet. She'll have to try to do better from now on.

Slacker tells Caitlin, "Guess I'll see if any other the others have room for me to crash. Don't feel like looking for a new place while we are planning this job. See ya at Hellfire."

Before Slacker heads over to Hellfire, he tries to get the money he had given the land lady for rent. "Hey. Since the apartment isn't liveable anymore and you don't have another one free, I'm going to have to get the rent advance I gave you."

@Caitlin

"I'm kind o' busy right now, but I'll try to make it. I might be late dough." Winchy says, and you hear very loud music in the background.

After he's done his talking with Caitlin, Warden considers a moment, looking down at what he's wearing. It's not fancy, but then again he's never been, and Torrie will understand. When he calls her place, he catches her answering service, which isn't unexpected, the girl works odd hours. He thinks a moment, then leaves a short message.

Hey Torrie, it's Forrest, it's been too long. When you get off work swing by Duke's and we can catch up, drinks are on me..

Sure, it's nothing special, but all the flags are there, and it's ambiguous enough no one else should be able to decipher that he's looking for info, since he knows she isn't a heavy enough drinker the offer would matter.

The rest of the day seems to go by in a blur for Caitlin. She no sooner gets done talking to the others, than she gets a call from Brad, who needs to be bailed out of trouble again. She finally gets home, catching up with her correspondence with Becky and eating a quick early dinner of pasta from the Stop & Go, before sitting in a lotus position to meditate. The state of gnosis, or perfect knowledge, seems as far away as always, but she still feels refreshed. After getting presentable again, she takes the tube to a stop a few blocks away from the Hellfire, and walks the rest of the way to the club.

Winchy:

MJ closes his eyes and thinks for a moment before responding.

"If you need a place to crash while you're down there, I know an ork who manages a one star hotel in the Grayrock district. The guy's a bit of a dickhead, but he'll gladly accommodate you if you're willing to pay in certified cred. Just bring your own security.

'As far as someone who can help you with odds and ends, I'm beer buddies with a local bartender in the Underground. He does a little arms dealing on the side, and might be able to provide you with a lil' of the bang bangs if you happen to need any. He's also pretty good at knowing what's going on in the streets.

'I'll hook you up with both of them for...say...one grand?"

Slacker:

The land lady shrugs apologetically, and says, "Sorry sweetie, but the money is nonrefundable. It don't matter how much you pay in advance, all that means is that I don't come collecting until your rent runs out. You're still responsible for housekeeping. It ain't my fault your apartment burned down."

Caitlin:

Abaddon's Hellfire actually has a fairly nondescript exterior for an Emerald City nightclub. An ordinary passerby wouldn't have any indication that the building is used for anything more than office work. You cut through the desolate alley next to the club and round it to arrive at a green steel door with three stony steps leading up to it. You rap your hand on the door to beget five healthy knocks, two short and three long. After a moment, it lazily opens back to reveal a burly troll decked out in street armor with a heavy pistol holstered on his belt. His face breaks into a friendly smile when he sees you.

"Hullo, Miz Snow. De boss is waiting inside," he rumbles.

"Thank you, Gravelback," you reply.

You step through the door to enter a cozy, dimly lit alcove with another large door on the opposite wall. Gravelback takes care to close and lock the door that you had just walked through before opening the other one. When he does, the silence in the air immediately gets blasted away by a loud stream of techno music emanating from within the next room. Walking inside, you find the same club that you've hung out in dozens of times before. Some of the people mingling there recognize and wave at you when they see you come through the entrance. The Hellfire isn't as suffocatingly crowded as most of the other raves in the city, but there are more than enough clubbers of all breeds jazzing it up inside for a social animal to easily find someone friendly to chat, drink, dance, or, as the case often is, sleep with.

A waitress approaches and greets you before leading you through the dance floor and pool tables to a small corner on the other side of the room. Due to some miracle of architectural design, the thundering roar of the music resonating in the nightclub slowly fades away to a more managible volume as you reach the dining area. The waitress takes you to the table where Korbin is sitting before waving goodbye and shuffling away. Korbin greets you with a smile.

"Caitlin, it's been awhile. Take a seat and tell me everything."

A waitor comes up to the table as you sit down, takes a tall mug of Bridgeport Amber Phoenix off his tray, and places it down in front of you.

"Sounds like a plan, MJ. It's always good to do bizness wit' you. I'll give you 500 nuyen when you give me de contacts' info, and 500 when we come back, assuming your friends did not screw us over. Deal?" offers Winchy.

MJ grins at you. "Beautiful."

Sipping her beer, Caitlin proceeds to fill Korbin in on the details of the job. "... so his son is running around the Ork Underground somewhere, unaware of how dangerous that parts of it can be, and we have to find him and bring him back somehow. Of course, we'll be finding out about the aforementioned danger ourselves, but I think we'll be able to handle it. It's a good group - solid people all around."

Caitlin:

Korbin tugs on his beard thoughtfully after you finish the story.

"No wonder the man was so careless with his identity. Losing your kid tends to make even the most resilient people go a little nuts."

He takes a leather briefcase from the chair next to him and slides it to you across the table. Opening it up, you find four sealed plastic bags, each with a single credstick and some kind of pendant inside. There's also a sheet of paper with an address and three telephone numbers underneath.

"That's the stuff your Johnson asked me to pass on to you. He said to wear those necklaces while you're in the Underground, and to head first for the address that he put down on the sheet."

Korbin dusts himself off and stands up, favoring you with a faint smile. He pats you on the arm, walks past, and calls over his shoulder as he departs:

"Have fun, and don't get killed off! Watch over your teammates, eh? Especially Slacker. The kid's got talent, but I swear he's going to get himself geeked one day if he doesn't start taking his work more seriously."

You turn your head to answer to find that he's already disappeared.

Sometime during the day Slacker drops by the land lady's house under the guise of trying one last time to get a refund.

He casually walks up to the door, surreptitiously looking for any signs other people living here and any security measures. He also makes a note of what types of locks are on the doors, particularly the garage.

When she answers the door, Slacker tries to again persuade her to refund his money. "Hi. I know you said you wouldn't give me a refund, but come on. Surely you have insurance to cover accidental damage or something. Isn't that part of the freaking rent? At least, I could have sworn you mentioned something about that when I first moved in.

Negotiations (Defaulting to Attribute, what the hell it's worth a shot)

Perception Test (as needed)

Perception Test (if needed since i mentioned different things he was looking at)

The woman scowls when she realizes what you want. "Listen, we agreed when you moved into that piece of shit apartment that I leave you to your own devices as long as you continue to pay the rent. Whatever happens to your cubbyhole is your business, not mine. Now leave me alone before I call the Star, you annoying prick."

Your superhuman reflexes barely manage to save your nose as the door slams shut with a resounding smash.

Winchy heads out of the Inferno, in direction of Hellfire. On days like those, it's hard not to feel doomed. From one 'ell to the next one, he thinks, yet we're actually going down way under dose two 'ells tomorrow. I bet de real 'ell probably isn't even called Hell, maybe you just walk in and dere's a big sign dat says: Happy Times Ahead. If I see one of dose one day, I swear I'll seriously freak out.

When Winchy reaches his destination and finds Caitlin, he shares his thoughts with her and orders some almost solid, black beer, and wings. "I bet you 50 nuyen dat if we see a sign Happy Times Ahead one day, dere won't really be any 'appy times a'ead."

Caitlin:

Just as Winchy shows up, your cell phone buzzes out its annoying ring tone again. You smile a greeting at the troll and take the phone out from a pocket, flipping open the cover with one fluid motion. The LED display indicates that you've just received a voice message from your father. You press the "Play" button and hold the phone to your ear.

"Hey, how's my little girl doing? You'll never guess what happened at the office today, and I can't wait to tell you. I know you're a busy lady, so I'm just going to leave this message for you, but call me back as soon as you're free. Take care, honey!"

Under the cover of night, Slacker plans his attack. First he creates two bombs before heading out. One is a relatively small charge designed to take out the garage door without having him fiddle with the maglock. The other is large enough to take out the car only. 'After all, I don't want to kill the bitch,' he thinks to himself.

A little bit nervous, Slacker parks his car a block or two away from the land lady's house. He makes sure to cover his face with the hood of his form-fitting body armor. He stuffs his long coat into a bag with the bombs and then proceeds on foot the rest of the way.

Upon reaching the land lady's house, he quickly surveys the area for any passer-bys. He then looks to see if the car is actually in the garage. Next he sets the smaller bomb in place on the garage door. He looks around one more time before starting the 15 second timer on it. Then he goes around the corner of the house to await the garage door's destruction.

With the explosion still ringing in his ears, Slacker dashes around the corner of the house, stepping through damaged door and into the garage. After only a brief moment set the bomb beneath the car, not even taking the time to place it for optimum effect, he starts the 30 second timer.

As soon as you're done rigging up the bomb underneath the car, you hear a surprised gasp from behind you. Jerking involuntarily, you smack the back of your head on the bottom of the car. Blinking to clear your vision, you crawl out from under the vehicle to find yourself face to face with an overweight, balding man dressed in a white bathrobe with fuzzy slippers on. He's cradling a shotgun in his arms, and is gawking at you with his face frozen in shock and outrage.

"I...you...what the hell do you think you're doing, motherfucker?!" he screams.

Time seems to slow down as the barrel of the shotgun comes up to hail you.

You draw and fire your weapon before the man's finger even brushes the trigger. The dart from your gun whizzes through the air and imbeds itself into his neck. The effects are immediate. His eyes roll back as he chokes a groan out of his throat, and he crumples to the ground, motionless. The shotgun clatters on the floor beside him.

As you drag your victim's limp body outside, you find a small group of four teenagers hanging around on the sidewalk, watching the proceedings with interest. Several windows of the houses across the road have also been opened, and heads are sticking out of them to observe the action going on down on the street below.

"Wow, ninja man, didja really kill him?" one of the kids asks, his eyes shining with amazement.

Seeing the foolish homeowner fall to the ground, Slacker quickly realizes that this man is too close to the car bomb. Acting as quickly as his enhanced abilities will allow him to he drags the unconscious man away from the danger of the garage.

That done, he quickly grabs the dart to avoid leaving unnecessary evidence. Glancing back at the garage, he dashes off into the night. Beneath his hood, a smile of pleasure forms as he thinks about how easily it was to balance the scale with the land lady.

He stays to the shadows as much as possible and avoids being spotted by any pursuers.

The kid frowns as he sees you ignore him and move away. He beckons to his friends, and they start tailing you, tagging along a few steps behind you as you begin to make your way to your car.

Somewhere in the house that you had left behind, your ex-landlady's voice reverberates out into the night.

"Mark? What's going on, Mark?"

A minute later:

"OH MY GOD!"

Hearing the -BOOM- of the car exploding and then the subsequent scream of his ex-land lady, Slacker can't help but let out a brief laugh of satisfaction.

But he's not out of the woods yet. 'Damn nuisance, these stupid kids. Don't they know not to follow runner,' he thinks to himself. He soon out paces them by putting a concerted effort into running through the neighborhood, leaping over hedges and sundry other obstacles as he goes.

When he is positive he has lost them, Slacker switches from flat out running to more stealthy methods of travel. Sticking to the shadows and out of eyesight from the curious, he makes his way to his car.

Looking around to see that it is safe, he begins to remove his mask and gloves only when he is satisfied nobody could see him. He then dons his long coat, now even more wrinkled than usual from its rough ride in the bag.

Looking more like a regular joe, he casually steps from his concealment and gets in his car. Despite wanting to rush away from the area, he forces himself to drive normally as he heads towards Hellfire and the meeting with the rest of the group.

Caitlin holds the phone up to her ear, frowning slightly. "Okay, sounds like good news... so why do I have this sudden anxiety? Ah yes, because I'm paranoid. Well, good attitude to have in my profession, I suppose..." She stops muttering and puts her cell phone away again, this time turning it off and activating her pager instead.

She makes a mental note to call her dad back as soon as she has met with the others. Winchy is here first, no surprise - the big troll has proven to be one of the more reliable members of the group. She snorts at his comment. "Ha! I'm not taking any new bets from you until I've paid off those last three. A pitcher at Matchstick's, lunch at Tam's under the Needle, and a double mocha at 'Sooner or Latte', respectively. Hard to keep track of all these things..."

She hands him his credstick and pass then, and updates him on the other information. "At least this Johnson doesn't skimp on logistical support. Come on, let's sit down. We can watch the ball game while we wait for the others. Caitlin picks a table that has a good view of the Seattle vs. Portland game playing on one of the big-screen trideos. It's one of the few times she and Winchy can just sit and watch a game, with no side wagers - that's because neither of them would ever bet for the hated, loathed, and despised Portland Lords.

Somewhere around 9pm, Slacker arrives at Hellfire. With thoughts of the look on his ex-land lady's face when she sees her husband and the scrap heap that used to be her car filling his head, he doesn't even bother to figure out what the actual time is.

Before getting out of his car, he quickly pulls on the only clothes he still has, the same secure clothing he wore to the meet the day before, over his form-fitting body suit. He waves his hand through his shaggy hair, combing it with his fingers as best he can.

Looking in the rear-view mirror, he sees just how rough he looks. Sleeping in his car last night did not help his appearance. 'Oh well. It's not like they aren't used to me looking a little disheveled,' he thinks as he gets out of the car and locks it.

As he walks in club, Slacker quickly surveys the area. He spots the rest of the group already waiting for him at one of the tables. Smiling more at his own thoughts than the friendly jibes they offer regarding the time, Slacker saunters orders a fruity drink to match his mood and joins them.

Showing more cheer than the group is used to Slacker plops down in a chair and says "How goes it, friends? Everything going good for you guys? I know it is for me!"

Caitlin raises an eyebrow at Slacker's seemingly good mood. "You sure seem cheerful for someone whose apartment just burned down. Anyways, to recap, we have the passes - here's yours, and your advance - and some information on people that we can contact, including our guide. Winchy's contact has come up with a few other people, which is good - I hate being completely dependent on a Johnson. Warden has managed to dig up a few old maps - nothing current, I'm afraid, but they could still be useful in giving us at least a general idea of where we are. Also, he has found out that ISSV representatives are going to be scouting parts of the Ork Underground for potential Urban Brawl sites, which we may be able to use as either a cover story or a distraction, as the need arises."

She looks around. "So that's what we've covered. Now I'm opening the floor to any more suggestions or strategies. Once we've hashed that out, we should all get a good night's sleep, and meet at the first address we've been given, the one for one of the slightly less public entrances to the Ork Underground, first thing in the morning - Eight A.M. or so."

Glossing over the details, Slacker says "I just finished 'settling' accounts with the land lady on my way over here."

Regarding the run he says "It looks to me like we really can't do all that much planning. There are just too many unknowns. Probably better to just improvise rather than lay erroneous plans based on what little we know."

Slacker pauses for a moment to enjoy his cocktail before continuing. "The only thing I think we need to discuss is what gear we're taking. I went ahead and bought respirators and a bunch of rations this afternoon. Hey, that reminds me. You owe me a grand for the two I got you, Winchy."

As he finishes his drink, Slacker starts looking around for somebody to take his order for another. As an afterthought he adds, "Can't we head out later tomorrow? 8am is just too damn early for me."

Winchy gives his money to Slacker from the credstick he has just received.

"Well I t'ink we have all we nid. De earlier we go, de sooner we might find our target so I say dat we should prolly leave early, like 8, like Cait said."

Caitlin looks around, seeing that the pre-run meet is winding down, and nods. "Yes, I think we've covered everything that we needed to. It's still relatively early, so that gives us plenty of time to be ready to roll in the morning. Slacker, I appreciate that you may not like the time, but this is it, this is the big time, and we all need to step up our game a bit. This run is that big break we've all been waiting for, but the trail is already cold and the clock is ticking, so we can't afford to take it slow and easy."

She stretches, than stands up. "Well, gentlemen, I'll see you all tomorrow." She glances up at the trid screen. "Damn Mariners are getting spanked again, anyways," she mutters as she walks away. As soon as she reaches the lobby, she takes out her cell phone, activating it and making a call. "Dad?"

Dejectedly Slacker says, "Yeah yeah yeah. The big time. Well I guess I don't have my games any more so there really isn't a point to me staying up late. Guess I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

He leaves Hellfire and finds himself a hotel. He'll even splurge on a moderately good one. Since it's just for one night it isn't going to be that expensive.

Once there he starts to watch a couple of trideo shows, but quickly falls asleep in the comfort of the bed. After all, he hadn't actually slept too well.

Before dozing off Slacker set the alarm for 7am to make sure he has enough time to wake up in the morning. Too bad he forgot that the hotel's clocks aren't set ahead of the actual time like he keeps his.

Caitlin:

Your father's voice emits out of the phone. "Hi honey, something wonderful happened. I've been itching to tell you for hours. I don't know if you've watched the news lately, but the ISSV is organizing an Urban Brawl match in the Ork Underground in a few days, and guess what? Yeah, they've hired my company to help out with the security detail. I've just negotiated a serious contract with one of their commissioners this afternoon, and I'm talking big money. This is going to pull the company out of its financial crisis and launch it all the way to the big leagues...well, moderately sized leagues, at least. If we do this well, it would help our reputation immensely and possibly bring in even more jobs."

He chuckles. "Who knows? Maybe when we hit it big, I can convince you to work for us. You won't have to risk your life mingling with criminals everyday anymore."

You can tell that he's only half joking.

Caitlin smiles. "That's great, dad. I hope it's the start of big things for you. And I will give your offer serious consideration, but I may be about to hit the big leagues myself. My own job is kind of hush-hush. I'll tell you straight up that it doesn't involve ISSV in any way, but ... if you happen to see me when you're in the Ork Underground, don't be too surprised."

The next morning Slacker wakes up for no apparent reason. He slowly opens his bleary eyes and sees the alarm clock saying it's 5:30am. "What they hell am I do awake at this hour," he asks himself. "Eh...might as well get up and play a game or two."

It's not until he gets out of bed and turns on the lights that he remembers that his bastard brother had firebombed his apartment, destroying all of his games. "Fucking bastard!"

Angrily, he tries to lay back down, but he already woke up too completely for that. After twenty minutes of tossing and turning, he finally gives up and slowly starts readying himself for the day.

A refreshing hot shower is able to bring some vitality back to him despite the lack of a full night's rest. Stepping out of the shower and drying off, Slacker looks at the only clothes he's still got. They hadn't exactly been clean when he first put them on, but after two days of use, including sleeping in them in his car, they were getting a bit crusty.

"Oh well. They're all I got," he says to himself as he begins to dress. "Come to think of it. They'll probably fit right in where we're going."

He leaves the hotel and heads out for a leisurely breakfast. Finishing that he sees that he still has about an hour to kill.

He cruises around looking for a parking garage to leave his car at. It has everything he owns in it, so he makes sure that he leaves it where it shouldn't get jacked.

He pops the trunk and pulls out a duffle back with the gear he's taking with him and catches a cab to the general area where the group is meeting.

Looking at his watch he realizes that he is probably still early. 'Shit,' thinks to himself, '2 out of the last 3 meets I've been early for. Much more of this and they'll start expecting me on time. Best not let that happen.'

His thoughts turn to what new games are out that he can buy once he gets moved into a new place after this run. He gets to the actual meeting spot 15 minutes early and contemplates getting an even better gaming system than he had before, until the others arrive.