01:10:15 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville - Puyallup Barrens

Carrying a bundle of the gear he'd found that Dragon might use in his little lab experiment gave Erebus time to reach inside and turn off his distate for what was to come. He hoped that the Yak solider would co-operate willingly enough once the situation became clear but he doubted it, and the information he had could make the diffence between life and death for the team. One way or another they had to have that data.

With somewhat of a start he realized that he'd already begun to think of the group of runners as his team rather than just a collection of individuals. His mentor's advise rang inside the silent places in his head.

If you find people you can trust, hold on to them boy, cause they're rare in the circles we live in.

The young elf promised himself he'd do what it took to protect the team, and with a grim determination returned to Dragon with the equipment he needed.

00:31:48 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

The shaman's kind voice, combined with the sense that they were experiencing the first breather over a day, allowed Virgil to relax a bit. "Physically I'm fine, nothing a few hours of sleep won't fix. For the past 24-36 hours my magical abilities have been crippled. Each spell I have cast, and spirit called, has taken an unusual amount of concentration, while draining me much more than normal. To make matters worse, I can no longer project myself into the astral world, my spirit form seems tethered to my body."

Virgil was quite sure that the shaman would be just as confused as he . . ."I was hoping that you might be able to astrally examine me, perhaps let me know what I am up against."

01:12:19 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville - Puyallup Barrens

Seeing the jumper cables the elf had returned with, Dragon took a look at them and pulled on them a few times, testing their strength and resiliency. Apparently satisfied, he tied them around their prisoner, further securing him. He left the alligator clips unattached, but let one dangle not so subtly near the man's groin. The other, he left out a bit, running a few feet away from the prisoner.

Dumping a collection of metal objects on a table nearby, there were only two objects there Erebus hadn't expected to see. The first wasn't that surprising, it was a long, thin metal pole. It didn't seem like much to beat someone with, but Erebus realized it probably wasn't for beating him with. No, it was probably for something much, much nastier. The second was much more unusual. With a second glance, Erebus realized he hadn't been mistaken in what he thought he saw the first time. A funnel.

Spreading the objects on the table evenly, Dragon said, "Thanks for the jumper cables. That should do." He seemed calm, just a little too calm, and if Erebus hadn't gone deep within himself to shut off certain parts of him, he was darn sure he'd be pretty unnerved right now. "Sorry to ask you to go out again, but do you think you could scrounge up a battery around here somewhere? Car sized should do it, and preferably not the one from our car."

He grins, breaking the tension in the air, until his next sentence, which brings all the previous tension flooding back, and then some. "Oh, and do you think you could ask them if they happen to have a blender anywhere in here?"

00:35:02 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

Doc shrugged as he looked over Virgil once again. “Not a problem. Most of these guys come in here with just a gunshot or knife in the side like your friend. Not pretty, especially when she’s half chiped out of her skull like Chevy was the other night. ” Doc said, motioning Virgil toward what looked to be a office away from the main area of the warehouse.

Walking inside, Virgil is slightly surprised by the area, obvisouly not the work of the same hand that did the free flowing grafitti in the main portion of the warehouse. The wall opposite the door is taken up with a mural of a stylized sunrise viewed through a brake of trees. With the other three walls a soft shade of green, the overall effect is of a glade in a forest. “Bear’s vision,” Doc says, noticing the shaman looking at the room. “Warded too, and out of prying eyes. Some of those guys would probably try to recruit you, or put some pressure on me if they knew you who you were. Saves time and headaches all around,” the elf said.

Gesturing over toward a stool for Virgil to sit down, and taking one from under a shelf holding some wooden figurines, he looked the other shaman over once more. “I probably don’t want to ask if you’ve been in any exotic places recently,” the Bear shaman said with a wry grin. “No surgery or anything like that as well?” Doc asked, a bit more seriously.

00:39:14 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

Taking in the surrondings of the room Virgil could sense the shift in aura between the different parts of the building. This room felt, ever so slightly, like Juliette and Galina's clinic. The positive aura that healers performing their craft weave into a place over time.

"No surgery for me Doc, I'm all flesh. As for travel to exotic places, I have not seen out of this town in several years." At least if all this trouble was happening to me while I was up north, I'd still be getting a vacation..

"I have been using a lot of mana over the last few days, but that is no different than the many times that have come before."

00:41:27 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

“Just checking. You never know when something will cause more than a little unforeseen damage,” Doc said. “Now, just relax for a moment. This won’t hurt a bit…” he continued, taking a deep breath and looking intently at Virgil

Hmm…not very relaxed Doc thought to himself, mentally cataloguing the other shaman’s brightly shimmering aura. Lots of stress lately. Shooting? Something like that recently. recognizing the patterns in Virgil’s aura that matched the ones from some of the gangers he’d treated. Disregarding a few other patterns that really didn’t have much to do with his examination, he almost finished before another pattern came into shape. What the hell is that? he thought, seeing the slowly shifting pattern. It seemed so faint before, but now the dark ribbon stood out plain as a rosebush out here. Where did that come from?.

The shaman’s eyes suddenly pop back into focus on Virgil. “Bad news,” Doc said. “Are you sure that you haven’t been anywhere recently? Any other symptoms than what you already described?” the Bear shaman said, voice now not so calm as worried

00:43:42 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

"Honest Doc, I have not been anywhere outside of the Sprawl lately. I also have not been in any of the toxic areas of this city for several months." Now Virgil was aware of a similar tone of worry seeping into his own voice. Though he was not an expert in awakened diseases, Virgil knew enough about parabiology to know that the things that could sap a mage's power were nasty.

"You know Doc, I can only think of a one or two events leading up to my symptoms that were unusual."

Leaning in a bit closer to his fellow shaman, Virgil took a graver tone. "Looking around this place I believe that I can tell a lot about your character and your path, in fact the friends of mine that I admire the most have chosen a similar one. . . "

Bear is loyal and a trusted healer, not unlike Galina and Juliette, plus he is running is own clinic in the same area that I know may be on the verge of a disease outbreak. How can I not tell him what I have seen? We're all on the same side . . . are we not?

"Some chums of mine operate a street-clinic on the other side of Puyallup, mostly serving the homeless and victims of sprawl violence. I spend a lot of time over there. Two days ago I discovered a street-girl suffering from an affliction that no one at the clinic could identify, she bled-out shortly after I rushed her in. We still have no idea she had caught, but there are more cases popping up. Shortly after my contact with her, I developed these symptoms."

Virgil could see that he just laid a lot out into the open, evident by the complete lack of color in Doc's cheeks.

"Whether or not that can help you treat me, you should know that you may start seeing patients afflicted with the disease that I just described. You should also know that you have allies against it."

00:45:27 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

Doc took what the other shaman had to say, growing as Virgil noticed defiantly more pale. “Bled out, you say? Just on the other side of here?” he said, getting an affermitive nod from Virgil. The Bear shaman seemed to go a bit paler than before.

“Did she touch you? Did some of the blood get in an open wound or something? I’m not trying to alarm you or anything, but most of the things that cause what you say happened to this girl aren’t the kind of things you get over.” Doc said, now leaning forward.

“And,” he continued, voice now almost a whisper, “if those guys out there find out that you’ve got something that made a little girl liquefy before your eyes, they might just kill you to keep them from getting it.”

00:49:22 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

"The paitent did not start showing those severe symptoms until after I had gotten her to the clinic, so the doctors there were confident that I was not exposed. To be on the safe side they put me through a decon routine right afterwards . . . everyone is getting deconed around that place."

Keeping his voice low like Doc was, Virgil tried to be as helpful as possible. "I just wanted you to know that if any cases pop up in this area, you should let my friends at the other clinic know. If this becomes anything short of an isolated incident or poisioning, anyone providing medical care will need to be informed."

Virgil took his pad and pen out of the inner pocket of his long coat and scribbled down the main LTG number of the clinic. "Here is the number, if you tell them that you spoke with Virgil it should help you get on the line with the right people."

"So Doc, what did you see in my aura . . .you've made me more worried than I already was."

00:53:45 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

Doc took the card with a slightly shaking hand, digesting what the other shaman said for a minute before speaking. "I'll do that," he said, voice more controlled, less at ease than before he'd scanned Virgil's aura.

"I'm worried about a few things though," the shaman said, becoming slighly more relaxed in talking. "One, I don't know what it is that you have, but whatever it is is affecting your use of magic. That's worrisome enough by itself. Secondly, and more importantly, there aren't a great number of things that make someone die in the way you describe, I can't think of a single one that comes from anywhere around here, and they're usually pretty hard to get. Children are usually very resistant to things that will kill an adult, and for one to die so violently in such a way isn't common, even out here."

"So, you want my opinion?" Doc continued, smiling nervously. "You need help, the sooner the better. I'm close with Bear, but I know when he and I can't do anything. If you want me to, I can get in touch with some people that I know. Regardless, I'll need to call your friends and compare some notes."

00:56:51 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

"I'd be very grateful if you can get me in touch with someone who can give me some answers about my condition. I cant' escape the feeling that things will only get worse for me the longer I go without help."

Though answers alone are not a cure.

"You should get in touch with my friends. I just hope that we can avoid a mass panic throughout the barrens. The death of one girl could lead to many more if people panic." Virgil tried to keep his voice confident, if anything to keep his own spirits up.

"So what is your advice now Doc, is there anything that I can do now?"

00:59:02 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

“My advice?” Doc says, still smiling nervously. “My advice would be to get into bed, after being checked out by an immunologist at Mitsuhama’s clinic downtown.”

“For something more practical,” the elf continued, now not smiling and more earnestly “I’d probably restrict your use of magic, if at all possible. You’re not going to get better by pushing yourself as well, either mentally or physically. It’s disturbing that these symptoms have come up, but they might not be related to anything at all. Or they might be. In things like this, not knowing is worse than knowing.”

Taking a deep breath, the elf finished “I’ll get in touch with your friends. If they’re in this area, you’re right that I’m probably going to start seeing it, and I need to learn about it. I’ll make some calls, maybe turn up someone else that can help you.”

01:02:13 Monday January 8, 2063 Abandoned Warehouse 7th Street and Eatonville Highway - Puyallup

Daedalus tries to let his mind relax a bit as he wanders about the warehouse, silently nodding to the few gang members around.

What day is it now? Monday? he mentally walks through the surreal events of the past 48 hours, and reeling over the massive number of objectives to accomplish, Daedalus suddenly recalls his last conversation with PJ and its abrupt end.

Frag, what was that, 6 hours ago? I hope she's ok. Hmmm 1 am. If she is ok she's probably sleeping and would not appreciate an interruption, and if not... no she is too sharp and resourceful to get into any trouble she can't get out of. She'll be alright. I'll call her in the morning.

And continuing resist the urge to call and convince himself about the competence of his dear friend (as well as her wrath at being awakened) he makes his way back to the car.

Not really sure where to crash, he shrugs and stretches out in the back seat of the car. He shifts into the Captain's Chair to order Talos to squat on the roof for a while to conserve fuel and orders to be alerted when any vehicles or groups of more than 3 people approach within 20 yards of the warehouse. With this, and hoping he isn't alerted every few minutes, Daedalus finally lets his mind drift off.

01:14:05 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

This sounds like this is going to hurt; a lot.

Shrugging his shoulders Erebus heads back out into the main part of the warehouse and catches the eye of the first ganger he can find.

"Hoi chummer, would you be willing to run a little errand for me?" Erebus pulled out his clip of hardcopy corp scrip and peeled off 100.

"I need a working car battery, quick as you can, but not the one from either my bike or the car we came in. Since we're also going to be here for a little while how about you grab a couple of pizzas and some drinks and bring them back? Enough for your friends too." He peeled another 100 out of his clip and offered them to the ganger.

01:15:37 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

The young, spike haired ganger took the couple-hundered nuyen, looking back and forth at the plasticized notes and Erebus "Sure thing chummer. Battery, pizza's, and beer. I think we can handle that. We'll be back here before the pizza's get cold"

Turning away with a wolfish grin on his face, he calls out to a group of other gangers huddled by an electric heater in a corner. "Hoi, Tomer. Wake up, we got a bit of money to earn." After a few more shouts, another elf gets up sullenly from the warmth of the heater, razorblade cut hair the same color as his scuffed synthleather jacket. Both dissappeared out of the warehouse quickly after Erebus's new friend flashed the cash.

01:15:23 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Tenmou had tried to get some rest, but the deep-seated pain in his body would rouse him whenever he moved the slightest bit.

Grimacing, he reached for his cellphone and stabbed the speed dial button to call Zeyda. He wasn't surprised when his fixer didn't answer and he ended up in a message box.

"Hey Zeyda, it's Tenmou. Listen, I'm still in the midst of the job, but I've been tagged pretty bad. One of my compatriots had a mage check me out, but my wounds were too much to be healed magically. If you know of a street doc in Puyallup, or one that'll come here, I'm sending you the address of where I am. Let me know if you can help and I'll warn the others that a doc will be coming. Thanks, Zeyda."

Tenmou encrypted his message and sent it off to the fixer and collapsed back into the makeshift cot. He closed his eyes and thought of Mioko as he tried to block out the pain.

01:18:47 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

While trying and failing to find some comfort on the hard woven plastic cot, Temnou's phone buzzed with an incoming call. Wincing with an onburst of pain as he reached for it, he checked the incoming ID. Zedya's incoming ID.

"Hoi there," the fixer said. "How bad are you hurt? Can you move?" he said, tired and to the point but carrying some feeling as well.

01:18:48 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"I can move, if I have to," Tenmou said with a half hearted shrug. "As for how bad I'm hurt..." Tenmou angled the picture phone down to show Zeyda the punctures left from the bullets. "I've felt better."

Bringing the phone back to his face, he said, "It seems that many in the Asian underworld want a piece of us tonight. It might be safer for someone to come here, rather than any of us risking further exposure."

01:19:22 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Zedya whistles softly as Temnou pans the camara over the entrance holes from the gunshots.

"I've got a guy that's pretty good. Problem is that he knows that he's good. Never had any complaints about his work though." the fixer said as Temnou's phone buzzed with an incoming text message.

"I just sent his number over. You need any other backup or anything?"

01:16:08 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Erebus wandered into the small make shift trauma ward that Doc had created in the warehouse looking for the shaman. He found the man just disconnecting from a call.

"Hoi chum, I need a little help. My friend is trying to find out some information concerning who has been shooting at us all night, and the fellow who we believe to have that information doesn't seem all that willing to share it. We're hoping to encourage him to help us out. Do you have a blender around here, or something close?"

Erebus paused for a second, as an idea occurred to him.

"Unless maybe you've got something in your medicine bag that will help us get the information we need. Either chemically or magically. Either way we'd be grateful for the service."

Erebus wanted the healer to know that he'd be willing to pay for whatever help the Doc could come up with. If he could get the data without all the mess and blood, so much the better. It'd be quicker and more reliable.

01:20:23 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

“A blender? I don’t think you’re going to scare anyone with a blender unless you’re going to try to make a margarita with that snow out there,” Doc said, shaking his head and walking over to a cabinet on the wall of the room.

Rummaging around for a moment, he eventually pulled out a large wand with a flat attachment at one end. Flicking it on to check the battery charge, the instrument made a whirring sound, and as he flipped it around Erebus could see a sharp blade moving rapidly back-and-forth under the flat edge of it.

“Cheese slicer from hell,” Doc said, teetering between smiling at his own joke and feeling disgusted with handing the dermatome over. “This thing’ll peal skin down to the bone if you want it to. Scares ‘em right good.”

Switching off the device and handing it over to the elf, Doc went on in a lower voice. “Two things: keep the screaming to a minimum. I don’t want those guys out there to get jumpy. Second; clean up when you’re done,” he said, handing over the instrument.

01:20:37 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Erebus sighed and accepted the rather mundane looking device. It felt a lot heavier in his hand than its actual weight. He looked again at Doc.

"I was actually hoping that you had some kind of truth serum or something in your medicine cabinet, either that or you could do your hocus-pocus thing and get the answers we need from this guy." He made sure to keep his voice calm and level, interested but not that interested.

"I can find very little mercy in me for this idiot, since his way of trying to whack us involved launching a missile into a crowded bar. Sort of Satan's greeting card and let the bystanders fall where they may. Still, torture is inherently unreliable, and we really need this fragger's data. I was hoping we'd have a better way to get it than to peel this guy out of his skin one inch at a time."

01:22:05 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

“Unfortunatly, I’ve never had much need for a Mind Probe spell. Given from what I know of Bear, I doubt he’d be too pleased. Not exactly his style, ya know? And its not like I’d have much use of it here,” Doc said, shaking his head and folding his arms.

“As for truth serum, I think you’ve seen too many sims. Most of the time it doesn’t work right, and the stuff that does is so pricy that you don’t want to use it unless its worth it. I don’t have any here anyway. If you really want it, I can make some phone calls. Not going to be cheap or get here quick, but I can get it for you if you want to wave around that kind of nuyen.”

“And it’s not like you have to use the thing. I’d prefer that you find another way, but sometimes that isn’t an option,” Doc said, holding out his arms in a ‘What can you do?’ motion. “If this chummer is a real hard-hoop like you say, he might just take everything with him,”

01:22:08 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Erebus silenced the unhappy voice in his head and returned Doc's shrug.

"I guess we do what we can then."

With that he turned and wandered back off to where Dragon waited.

01:19:23 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"This'll do for now. Thanks Zeyda."

Tenmou disconnected the call and stored the number in his phone's memory. Bracing himself against the pain, he got up from the cot and made his way out to his compatriots. He wouldn't involve outside parties without consulting those that were already neck deep in this crap.

He looked around the warehouse and saw the Asian tied up with cables, tools arrayed nearby and Erebus looking rather displeased about the whole situation.

What the frag is going on here now? Tenmou wondered.

01:23:00 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Erebus handed the dermatone to Dragon and explained what little he knew about its function, working hard to show no emotion at all as he explained to Dragon what it did.

The internal debate had settled, he felt no more compunction about what had to be done since he'd exhausted every remedy available to avoid the use of torture. If the Yak hitter got himself shredded by Dragon it was simply because the goon refused to give up the necessary data.

Erebus had been subjected to all sorts of sick drek while he was with Amanda, inflicting and receiving pain had usually been what turned her on, but he'd never gotten over the instinctive distate he had for torture. Still, what he'd said to Doc held true; what had to be done, had to be done.

01:26:04 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Studying the item Erebus had brought back, Dragon nodded. It wasn't what he'd had in mind, but it would do. Truth be told, this was greatly annoying him. He didn't want it to come to this, but if it had to be done, it had to be done. Frankly, he'd rather the goon just talk and save him the time and trouble of torturing it out of him.

Still, he was curious what the others thought of the situation, and the goon wasn't going to come to for a bit anyway. Seeing Tenmou up and about, he decided to ask the two of them. Virgil's distaste for the some of the more extreme methods Dragon sometimes employed was well documented, and Daedalus just dealt with the harsh realities of their situation, despite his personal feelings, much as Dragon did. But these new teammates were variables, still largely unknown.

Deciding it could do no harm to ask, Dragon looked at both of his new teammates and said, "Are either of you going to have a problem with this? Between the three of us, I'd prefer we did this the easy way, but if he wants it the hard way," he shrugs, "then he's got no one but himself to blame. Still, if either of you has something to say about this, now would be the time."

01:26:07 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"While I find the act of torture repulsive, I understand that our situation isn't exactly the best at the moment. I will simply remove myself from the proceedings and feign ignorance."

Tenmou looked to Erebus and Dragon. "I did have one thing I wanted to run past you gentlemen, however. I have spoken with my fixer and he has referred me to a doctor that may be able to patch up my injuries. It sounds like the man may be expensive and/or narcisistic. Do we risk bringing any unknowns here? My fixer has also volunteered assistance if we require anything in particular."

01:26:34 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Dragon looks over at Erebus. "It's his friend who's here, his turf. If he's willing to risk it, that's fine with me, but we might be better off not bringing heat down on this place if we get made. At the least, I think we should check with our hosts before we start bringing strangers in here. Erebus, it's your chummer, so what do you think?"

01:26:50 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Erebus looked at Tenmou trying to gauge his need to weigh against the risk. In the back of his head a small voice pointed out that if this street doc of Tenmou's was that good then it wouldn't hurt to get his name and contact points for future use.

"I have no problem with you bringing your street doc here, but before you do you need to talk to Doc to make sure that's chill. There is no way you're going to be allowed to bring that guy here if he's connected with some rival gang. We need to be sure Doc's friends are willing to give him safe passage."

Erebus paused then added as tactfully as he could.

"Also, the other issue, errr. . . .well its clear that you're Oriental. I know your street name is a Japanese kanji character, so I just want to make sure that you know this street doc before we bring him down. If he's a Yak allied street cutter and we bring him down here then we're just inviting trouble."

"I'd run the name and idea past Doc before we go anywhere else. If Doc says its okay, then I say its fine. Lets just make sure that we don't tell the cutter exactly who he's treating and be ready to scramble the minute this guy leaves."

01:26:56 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"I'll have to talk to my fixer again. I have the Doc's contact info and was told that he's excellent, but I have no idea as to his affiliations, if any. And have no worries, Erebus, I am not Yakuza. I do have family in the organization, but they are my ear to the ground within that particular brotherhood. I would have spoken with him about our situation, if I wasn't concerned that they would be monitoring him. I don't believe the Yakuza knows of our familial ties, but I wasn't going to take chances without precautions in place."

Tenmou pulled out his cellphone.

"I will contact my fixer again and get further information on this doctor..."

01:27:33 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Stepping out of the makeshift torture chamber, Temnou thumbed down to his fixer’s drop, dialing the number while moving down the hall out of earshot. Surprisingly Zeyda answered, roadway sounds and soft jazz in the background.

“Hoi omae. What do you need?"

01:27:37 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"Hey Zeyda, I think I might need some more info on this doc friend of yours. We're in a major gang area and we want to make sure that we won't cause any jurisdictional issues if he were to come to where we are. What do you know of his rep? Any ties to any particular group? I wouldn't mind running the guy's tag by the locals to make sure there won't be any issues."

01:30:14 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"Calls himself Bloodmoney," Zedya said, pausing for a second as Tenmou heard the soft clicks of someone paging down information in a psec.

"Don't know too much about his background, but I don't know of any gang connections," the fixer said after checking his notes. "He's human, ex-corp if I had to guess. Makes housecalls for the right price. Not the most pleasent person to be around either; the last two people I sent over to him swore they'd kill him if he wasn't so good. I think they're regular customers now," Zedya joked, a bit tiredly.

"Need anything else?"

01:31:06 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Erebus stepped a little closer to Dragon, glanced over to make sure the goon was still out then said in a low quiet voice.

"While we got a couple of ticks omae I'd like to get your thoughts on what our next step should be." The young elf began ticking off fingers as he ran down the problems facing the team.

"One, we've got Daedalus's gear to recover. I'd put that pretty high up on the priority list since I'm assuming the gear is operational in nature and may well aid us in accomplishing the other missions. I'd try and accomplish that first since we're pretty much sucking wind in the resources department and could certainly use the assets." One finger down.

"Two, we've got to find Vinnie's stuff. I view that as a separate objective than recovering Daedalus's gear even though they are likely to be close to each other. I don't put this up too high on our priority list but we may well be able to accomplish this objective when we grab Daedalus's equipment. I recognize that Vinnie thinks he can impose time contraints on us to accomplish this mission but I'm not lending that as much weight." Second finger down.

"Three, find out who is trying to kill us. Hopefully, sleeping beauty can help us on this one. I put this real high on the list since the hitter has already demonstrated an ability to track us through a fairly complex effort to avoid detection. They've also demonstrated a willingness to use whatever means necessary to eliminate us. This suggests to me that whatever it is we know or can do it must be fairly significant since not even Yakuza use rockets in a Seattle street unless its really fragging serious. If its that serious to them then I bet they're going to put a lot of resources into hunting us down, and we're going to need to be able to put some pressure back on them even if only to give us a little room to work." Another finger down.

"Four, find out who set me and Tenmou up. That'll probably tie in pretty tight with Vinnie's stated missions for us. I think we need to move on it pretty quick or my Johnson is likely to roll up the trail he left in hiring me. I've already contacted my fixer who is himself running for cover. Whoever set us up was willing to risk the negative reaction of betraying his runner and his fixer. That means that he had to believe that he could bury both of us to keep the word from getting out or he'd never be able to hire decent shadow talent again. Either that or this deal is important enough to take the risk. Whichever it is I'd like to hit the flower shop in Renton where I picked up Tenmou and the recognition code from Hell and see if there are any clues leading back to the Johnson and I'd like to do that tonight." The last finger went down, and Erebus wrapped his thumb around them into a fist.

"I hope I'm not missing anything, but I am sure that I am. We need to co-ordinate this crew, trying to figure out where each of us best fits into the team and make sure everyone knows their roles. We also need to get a clear idea of what assets we have to work with so we can plan intelligently."

"I'm willing to put in the nuyen I got from selling my deck, since I don't have much else to offer. I would like you guys to agree to help me lift another deck if we can though to replace it. Obviously I'm muscle rather than Matrix but I'm going to need a deck eventually."

With a resigned sigh he gave a little shrug and looked to Dragon.

"Anyway, that's kind of what I see facing us and where I rank them on my things to do list. I'd be willing to follow your lead if you want to take command of this crew, I wanted you to know that."

01:35:13 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

While listening to Erebus's assessment of the situation, Dragon took the time to size up the young elf. So far he'd proven himself capable and competent, and given Dragon absolutely no reason to doubt him whatsoever. Of course, that didn't make the elf any less of a potential danger, and it was nearly a given that he had an agenda of his own, one that he had probably chosen not to voice just now. Then again, didn't everyone?

Erebus's assessment of the situation at hand was more or less accurate in Dragon's estimation, and with the exception of his fourth point, were all things that D&D V3 had a distinct personal interest in as well. Plus, the fact that Erebus had a personal stake in all this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and could even work out to everyone's benefit down the road. In the end, the real question was, did they want to work with him and his Japanese partner beyond the immediate concerns at hand, or part ways as soon as possible?

A fair question, and not one Dragon felt he had a right to make on his own. A moment of reflection led him to the immediate decision that he really needed to consult his team before proceeding with Erebus. That decided, he believed the young elf had been upfront with him (although whether or not he was honest was an entirely different story) and as such, deserved some sort of immediate response.

"All right, here's how I see it. I think you've laid out a good summary of our current situation and I appreciate that you've laid your perspective of our situation on the table. I think you’ve brought up several things worth discussing, but I need to consult my team before continuing this discussion. You mind watching him while I take five with them?”

The two of them look over to their prisoner, even more securely bound than before, and back to one another. Erebus nods his head. “Go ahead. I can keep an eye on him.”

Without a word, Dragon strides from the room. He knew even if the prisoner did get loose (which he highly doubted) the elf had the situation well in hand.

“Daedalus, grab Virgil and meet me in the back of the warehouse, far away from everyone else. We need to talk.”

Jolted out of his sound sleep, Daedalus comes awake immediately, with a few choice curses right after. “Damn it Dragon, I was catching some quality shut eye. God knows I could use it after the last 48 hours. What the hell is it about this city that refuses to let a guy get some peace and quiet?”

“Quit your whining and get back here. We’re still on the clock and we’ve got a job to do. Several of them actually.”

“I was having a really good dream for your information.”

“Yeah, and it probably involved a bunch of cute and cuddly little drones playing happily at your feet. Get over it. If it’s that dream again, you’ll probably have it the next time you go to sleep.”

“Hey, don’t talk about the children that way! And I’ll remember you said that the next time you need one of those ‘cute and cuddly little drones’ to bail your sorry hoop out.”

“You and your freaking drones. I swear, I will never understand your fascination with them.”

“You mean like I can’t understand your fascination for getting yourself in trouble over a woman? Repeatedly? For example, like in at least two of the aforementioned jobs we have to do?”

“Wiseass.”

They broke the comm connection as the rigger walked up, Virgil in tow. To the shaman’s experienced eye, their grins over their little banter betrayed their conversation. “You know, don’t you guys get sick of being in each other’s heads all the time? Doesn’t it ever get old having someone else’s voice pop out of nowhere?”

“No, what gets old is always having to yell stuff to you when you forget to have your commlink with you,” Dragon quipped.

The shaman snorts. “Believe me, knowing that I still have my soul entirely intact never gets old.”

“Hey my soul’s intact. And whatever parts of it aren’t…well life would’ve done the deed just fine for me without cyberware, so I may as well reap the benefits of being soulless in addition to the downsides.”

Looking at them with a puzzled expression, Daedalus breaks in, “What downsides are there? It is only through cyberware that we can become a part of the Great Network that links us together. How could anyone achieve holy communion with the Drone Messengers of the Cyber Gods without it?”

Waiting for them to both look at him incredulously, the rigger smiles and holds up his hands. “Kidding, kidding. OK anyway, you woke me up, so this better be good Dragon. Start talking.”

Virgil gives Daedalus a long-suffering look and mutters “Heathen…” under his breath, but he turns to listen to Dragon as well.

Quickly the mercenary relayed the gist of his discussion with Erebus. “So what do you guys think?”

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Virgil says, “I think that at this point, having allies is definitely a worthwhile consideration. He’s played it straight with us so far, and I don’t see how having him onboard could hurt.”

“I agree. We have a lot to deal with and not enough people to do it with. We need more manpower,” Daedalus adds.

“Are you suggesting we bring him into our personal business as well?” Dragon asks.

“Not so fast,” Virgil interrupts. “I don’t think it’s fair to agree to work with him, and then dump all these personal issues on him. What are we supposed to say, ‘oh yeah, and if you’re going to work with us, you’ve got two or more groups of people who will want to geek you by association?’”

“Hey there’s risk that comes with any job,” the rigger answers.

“Yeah, but our biz isn’t a job. It’s…”

“Us being do-gooders again and grasping at the hope of a payday,” Dragon interrupts Virgil. “Since when did we become freaking Robin Hoods anyway?”

“You’re a mercenary! How on earth do you arrive at the conclusion you’re a Robin Hood?!” Virgil exclaims.

“Do you see a payday waiting for us at the end of all this? For that matter, where’s our advance? Heck, why don’t you tell me who our employer while you’re at it Virg, because I must have missed that too,” Dragon fires back sarcastically.

“Would it kill you to do something good for free once in a while!?”

“Hey I do a lot of good for free!”

“Name one time!”

“When we busted out Sybersnake in Aztlan.”

“Guys, do we really need to bring this debate back up again?” Daedalus interrupts.

“Shut up,” the mercenary and shaman answer automatically without even looking at him.

Rolling his eyes heavenward at the mercenary and shaman’s neverending debate, with the speed of thought, Daedalus takes the opportunity to check in with his drones to see if the situation has changed noticeably. When both come back with the ‘all clear’ signal, he takes the opportunity to praise them. “Well done my children. Continue to vigilantly keep watch.”
“Acknowledged, master.” Both drones acknowledge his command, and he turns back to the discussion.

“You can’t count Sybersnake! You were doing it as a favor for Global!”

Silence.

“OK…well what about when we went back for her kid, huh? What about that?”

“You were sleeping with her by then!”

“So?”

“Guys! Business. Virgil always gets us in trouble because he’s trying to do some good in the world, and Dragon always gets us in trouble over a woman. And me, I’m just there to bail both your hoops out,” Daedalus concludes with a self-satisfied smile.

Dropping their ages old argument, after a few more minutes of discussion, a consensus emerges, when Daedalus brings up a question. “Wait, are we talking about Erebus and Tenmou or just Erebus?”

“That’s a good question…I don’t know. I’d have to ask him. Anyway, I think we have enough right now for me to present our proposal to him. Are we agreed on this?”

The other two nod their assent, and split up once again to what they were originally doing. Virgil to the street shaman, Daedalus back to his nap, and Dragon to Erebus.

01:55:11 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Returning to the ‘interrogation room’, Dragon motions the elf out of earshot of their prisoner. With both of them keeping an eye on the prisoner, Dragon casually folds his arms in front of him and says, “OK Erebus, I talked over what you said with the guys, and here’s how we see it.”

“We concur with your analysis of the situation, as well as the objectives that you laid out. However, there was one thing we think you left out.”

Aware that Erebus was in his apartment when the strange messenger approached the team for a meet, Dragon quickly reminds the elf of their strange visitor.

Holding up his right hand, he raises a finger. “We think it would be most efficient to go to the meet first as a whole team, if only to try to identify one of the players in this convoluted mess. Right now we’ve got a lot of questions, and not a lot of answers, and we’d like that situation to change. Hopefully sleeping beauty over there,” Dragon motions with his head towards their prisoner, “will give us some answers, but whether he does or not, we’ve got to move fast.”

“Once we’re finished with him, we go to the meet and see what they have to say, maybe try to leverage ourselves some extra info or even an ally. At the very least, make sure they stay out of our way. One thing we don’t need is an extra enemy floating around out there.”

Raising another finger, he continues, “Then we’ll split up, half of us to the flower shop to try to track down whatever leads we can over there while the other half goes the impound lot to try to case the place. Vinnie isn’t exactly high on my ‘People to Trust’ list, and I don’t want to rely on him in any way, shape, or form to get Daedalus’s stuff. If at all possible, I’d prefer to get it back ourselves and I’d definitely like to have it before we deal with Vinnie again.”

A third finger goes up. “Between the flower shop, the goon, and the meet with this mysterious third party, hopefully by then we’ll have Vinnie’s answer for him, as well as a line on who is trying to wack us. Then we can get Vinnie off our backs and decide what we want to do about whoever set you up. I’d like to be able to put some pressure back on them like you suggested, but I don’t know if we’ll have the resources to do that. Besides, if those chumps they sent after us at the Depot were their idea of a hit squad, I’m not exactly sweating bullets just yet.”

Down to his pinky now, Dragon holds that up. “We appreciate your willingness to use the funds from your deck to give us some operating capital. I’d bet we’re going to need it, myself. However, from where we sit, it’s no more or less a sacrifice than any of us using whatever resources we have available to get us out of this alive, so we’re not going to explicitly agree to help you boost another deck.”

Opening up his thumb to hold his palm up, indicating Erebus should keep listening before saying anything, Dragon continues. “But, we have noted that you’ve expressed at least some small interest in working together after this current situation is resolved. At least one of those hints, in my opinion, was in asking our willingness to assist you in getting another deck. I’m sure you will agree that such a job is not directly tied into any of the four objectives currently at hand, correct?”

The elf nods assent, and it appears he is at least still willing to listen, and curious about where Dragon is going with this. “So here’s our proposal to you. You want us to assist you in getting another deck after this is over. Frankly, we’ve got a lot of…other biz on our plates right now, and this scenario is all the more fragging annoying because of that. I don’t want to get into it here and now, but if you want, after we’ve handled the four objectives you laid out earlier, we’re willing to discuss working with you and your partner on a more long term basis. One of things we discuss can be getting you a new deck, and like I said, we’ve got numerous projects going on right now. Some are personal, some are biz, and some are in between, if you catch my drift.”

Erebus nods, knowing full well what Dragon meant. Sometimes the lines between biz and personal got entirely too blurry, and one had to wonder if in the shadows there was really any distinction at all.

“All right then, so to summarize, we agree with your assessment of the current situation. We’ve laid out our proposed plan for approaching the problems at hand. After we’ve dealt with this drek, we’ll sit down with you and Tenmou and discuss the possibility of extending our working relationship. That includes some of the projects we’ve got going on, getting you a new deck, and anything else anyone happens to think of. What do you think?”

Letting out a breath after all that talking, Dragon falls silent, waiting for the elf’s reply.

01:55:18 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

As Erebus thought about what Dragon had said, the bound man over in the corner coughed loudly, trying to spit blood out but only succeeding in making it dribble down his chin. Moaning, he rolled his head around to try to take in his surroundings, a pounding headache still causing him to see stars in the periphery of his vision.

01:55:17 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Erebus thought for a second about the other warrior's words and decided the offer was the best he could hope for under the circumstances.

"Fine. I can live with those terms. Since it looks like I'll be joining your crew, at least temporarily, then enlighten me as to the command structure. I've always believed there needs to be a unified command structure for combat situations, so when the bullets start to fly who runs the battle drill?"

Of course, at precisely that moment the prisoner started making noise again, so Erebus held up a restraining hand before Dragon could respond.

"Perhaps we should finish this conversation latter, it looks like there is work to be done."

01:55:37 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Dragon nods at the elf's words. "We'll discuss our strategies in more detail later. For now, do you and your partner have a common communcation channel or channels you use? We'll set up a few common frequencies so we can all communicate quicker and clearer when the drek hits the fan after we take care of this piece of biz."

Turning to the prisoner, any trace of amiability is gone from Dragon's face. He has returned to the business minded individual who grew up knowing every day, every second could easily be your last, and you'd never even see it coming.

To him, the guy tied to the chair wasn't a person; he was simply an obstacle, with the added complication that the obstacle was also a resource. The task of maximizing the resource while removing the obstacle was the only thing on his mind, and he set to that task with cold efficiency.

Standing in front of the man so he could see him, Dragon said, "You're awake. You already heard the speech last time, so I'm going to cut right to the chase. You will talk. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Every time I don't like one of your questions, I'm going to get creative."

He grins cruelly. "Really creative. But don't take my word for it. Feel free to test my patience. Oh, and don't think I'm going to accidentally kill you in the process. So don't even think about holding out for that."

Folding his arms in front of him, Dragon says, "So let's try this again. Who are you, and who sent you?"

01:55:55 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

The goon struggled a little as Dragon spoke to him, but the combination of jumper cables and chains didn't allow much movement.

Settling himself as Dragon finished, he slurred out "Dumb gutterpunk like you probably hasn't figured it out yet, but I ain't sayin' a word. If you knew what was good for you, you'd let me out of here; you really don't know who you're fraggin' with," the goon said, blood and spit dribbling out of his mouth as he spoke

01:56:05 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"See, now that's exactly what I'm talking about," Dragon says softly. "I want to know what's good for me, so I need to know who you work for. Without that, I can't begin to make any educated decisions, now can I?"

He chuckles, but it is a sound devoid of mirth. "Besides, I'd say there's no point letting you go, since I'm already in trouble. At least, that's the conclusion I came to when you all decided to introduce yourselves to me by way of a rocket launcher. I still don't appreciate that, by the way." Sighing, he adds melodramatically, "But, since you don't seem to believe me when I said I'd get creative, allow me to prove to you that for whatever else, I am a man of my word."

Handing several strips of cloth to Erebus he says politely, "Here you go, my good man. Do me a favor and gag him for me, will you? We do so want to keep the noise down."

Dragon's personality had taken a distinctly frightening turn for the worse, as he was as calm and casual as if he was discussing what to eat for dinner that night, and not torturing a person. In his mind though, he had long since shut off everything but the cold, hard professionalism that drove him when things got ugly.

Jacking up the dampener in his ears to keep the noise level down, he begins humming cheerfully as he picks up the promised dull and rusty knife, pliars, and the lighter while Erebus gagged the prisoner.

Turning from the table where he'd assembled his tools to their now gagged prisoner, he says, "If you're from who I think you're from, you'd have to do this anyway as a symbol of your failure, so consider this a favor from me to you, since I'm going to be saving you the trouble of doing it yourself."

Grasping the prisoner's left pinky firmly with the pliars, he smiles and says, "Feel free to stop me at any time by telling me what I want to know." With that, he holds the prisoner's hand steady with the pliars and with grim resolve begins sawing his finger off at the third knuckle, where the finger is attached to the bone. Even with the casual facade he puts up, the human part of Dragon is still glad the dampener prevents him from hearing the screams.

01:59:50 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"UGHH! AGHHH!" are all that the prisoner could say through the gag, but even with that Dragon was glad that the proverbal sound was turned down. The goon tried to struggle, but the combination of jumper cable, chain, and pliers held him fast as the knife didn’t so much cut through the skin, but sawed the flesh apart. The knife blade was quickly red as Dragon roughly moved the man’s hand around as he outlined the joint. Blood spurted as he shifted the fingerbone with a sickening pop as it released from the hand. The man went pale, and almost fainted until Dragon asked for the lighter…

01:59:59 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"It doesn't have to be like this you know," Dragon says conversationally. "Just tell us what we want to know and it can all be over quickly." Lighting the flame and holding it close to the hole where the man's finger used to be attached to his hand, the mercenary seared the wound shut. Sweat poured down the man's face as he thrashed and shrieked, but the gag muffled his screams and Erebus and the restraints held him tight.

Dragon held the finger up in front of the man before tossing it into a metal bowl on the table holding the rest of the torturous implements. "Nod if you decide you're ready to talk. Otherwise..." his voice trails off as he dextrously twirls the knife around his fingers, "I can move on to the next one. So what do you say? Are you ready to chat yet?"

Despite the cool, sadistic show he was putting on, a part of Dragon was sickened. He never really liked torture. Frankly, in his mind, two professionals shouldn't have to resort to it. But this guy was clearly of a different mentality, one that had to be broken before he would be of use.

Besides, Dragon told himself, to get where he was, this guy had probably done, or would do, much worse to people who never even had a chance. The rocket fired into the bar earlier in the evening was proof of that. Consoling himself with that rationalization, he returned to the grim business at hand.

02:02:16 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

The man started grunting, as if to try to say something. Taking the gag out carefully, so as to avoid any other possible surprises that this guy might have, Erebus took the gag out. Spitting, and still shaking slightly from the pain, the man spoke to Erebus, not looking at Dragon.

"I ain't telling you gaijin pieces of drek nothin'. Get the other guy in here. He speaks my language, I'll talk to him," the man spat out, not looking at his mangled hand either.

02:02:20 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

It was only a couple of steps to the doorway but Erebus took his time getting there. He refused to hurry or show the meat puppet in the chair that what was happening bothered him.

"Hoi, Tenmou we need you to come do Jap-speak at this guy." Erebus called out to the other runner. Without waiting for a reply he turned back into the room and gave the victim cold dead eyes. He figured he'd try and emulate Dragon since they were trying to accomplish the same thing.

01:30:16 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"No, that'll do it for now. Thanks again, Zeyda. Apologies again for the late hour."

"No worries. Take care of yourself, Tenmou."

Tenmou disconnected before looking for a place to rest semi-comfortably for a while.

02:02:23 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Tenmou had jolted awake when their captive had begun screaming, but he remained out of sight from the torture being inflicted. He forced himself to move when Erebus called him.

He did his best to mask his discomfort as he witnessed the injury inflicted on their captive.

"Jap-speak?" Tenmou asked, somewhat offended as he strolled past the runners and knelt before the Asian man, to put himself at eye level with the man.

"Konnichiwa," he said. Continuing in Japanese he alludes, "I hope you are able to provide us with honest and helpful information, so this needless barbarism can come to an end."

02:03:08 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"Get him," the man nodded in Dragon's direction "out of the room. I am not speaking with him in here," the man said in good Japanese, only slightly accented by the Sprawl's normal tones.

02:03:12 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Tenmou turned toward Dragon and Erebus. "It would seem that or visitor is unconfortable chatting with you present. If you could excuse us for a moment? I will contact you if your task must resume."

02:03:18 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

Dragon grins savagely at their prisoner and nods. "Of course. I'll be right outside. You know, just in case you need anything."

Setting his cyberear frequencies to filter out extraneous noise, he tunes them to focus in on Tenmou and their prisoner's voices, amping up the volume for those two sounds, so he can still hear their conversation even from outside the room.

Of course, it probably wouldn't help, since they'd be speaking in Japanese. That being the case, it was probably a good thing that Dragon spoke Japanese. He couldn't help but smile as he turned around and walked out of the room.

02:05:21 Monday January 8, 2063 - Abandoned Warehouse - Puyallup

"So, Flower-man, what do you want to know? Other than that you're probably going to be as bad off as me soon," the bound man says in Japanese. With Dragon and Erebus out of the room, his body seemed to visably relax despite the hard stare that he fixed Tenmou with.