@Mercer,
At a distance out of sight, Mercer tracks the Shin-Hyung further into the Puyallup Barrens, waiting patiently for Tiny and his companion to lead him to Ikiryo. When he sees the ARO stop moving, he considers punching the accelerator, thinking the fight is already in progress, but GridGuide lists the nearest church as eight blocks away, so he reconsiders. It's a gambit to be sure. It's not like GridGuide is exactly up-to-date when it comes to businesses and pop-top shanty-town churches, but the way Tiny was discussing the intel he was receiving, it makes Mercer think that the opposing team is making a scheduled stop first.
He's right. Inching his Roadmaster up to the edge of a derelict building a few blocks away, Mercer grabs Vera -- first to put good eyes on what's going on and second to put down Ikiryo should the opportunity present itself -- and peaks around the corner.
Drek. The Shin-Hyung is pulled up next to an Americar and another Roadmaster, and four runners are loading up their gear. A Concordant pulls in on the other side of the Roadmaster, and Mercer gets a brief view of the profile before he disappears into the armored vehicle.
That's Ikiryo all right. Tiny enters the Roadmaster wearing his Lined Coat and exits a few minutes later in full armor, donning a Ballistic Mask done up like a Daikijin and carrying what Mercer is pretty sure is an Auto Assault 16. He waves the rest of the runners in the Roadmaster, closes the side door and rides on the runners as it tears off at a surprising clip with the Americar following behind, probably on autopilot.
His mask on, his gear prepped, Mercer rushes to his own Roadmaster and puts it on course for the church. No use in hanging back now. Yeah, they may see him coming, but if he wasn't in the fight early, he wasn't going to be in the fight at all.
As Ikiryo's group tore their way to the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Mercer could see a scrawny-looking ganger, note their approach and punch frantically at his comm from a rooftop. This could turn out to be interesting.
Ikiryo's Roadmaster stopped within five meters of the church's front door, and three of the five runners spilled out. Tiny led the charge, and comes to a standstill two steps before the door. Ikiryo follows, and takes his position just to the right of the door, and the man Mercer recognizes from the noodle shop approaches Tiny on his left. He turns invisible breaches the troll's shoulder, and Mercer notices Tiny rearing back to kick in the door
@Sister Rebecca and Achak
"When and where is the appointment?" Achak asks. Then, thinking that maybe Llewellyn shouldn't be listening to this part, "My best guess is we'll be departing tonight or tomorrow morning."
Before Sister Rebecca has a chance to answer, Achak receives a comm from Rusty that makes his blood run cold.
<<@Achak [Rusty] Your unexpected company is coming hard and fast and is packing hardware.>>