[Jack_Spade]

Bobby carefully takes Brian by the scruff of his neck and hands him to Mato.

That done, he swiftly moves out in front of him to clear the way, should it be necessary.

[Beta]

Jawsey suspects that he'll never tire of asensinsing a spell being cast.  The way that some vibrant and almost alive comes into being from nothing but raw astral background has a fascination that he can't quite describe .... With a mental shake he pulls himself from that reverie as he sees the others are starting to move out.

He stops manifesting, and flits his astral form back out to the walkway to scout check for trouble.

[Lorebane24]

The pug in tow, Mato and Bobby make their way past a few confused-looking residents loitering on the walkway.

Returning to Astral space, Jawesy, spots one of the Halloweeners making his way back towards the tenement building from the bar.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby bounded down the fire staircase while maintaining his concentration and staying vigilant. If everything worked, AM would be waiting for them with the car...

[Tecumseh]

Mato cradles the pug as best he can. It's abnormally large and dense, as Magic can only do so much when compressing an ork into a dog. Mato's metallic arms are not not soft or comforting, although his armor jacket at least saves the pug from direct contact with the cold metal.

Mato peels off his ballistic mask and stuffs it down the front of his jacket. Sure, it would conceal his face, but right now he'd rather appear inconspicuous. Hopefully the grocery bags help with that. Just, you know, out for a walk, carrying some dinner to grandma's house, with a mangled dog, like a normal Redmond resident...

<<@AM Coming down. ETA?>>

[Lorebane24]

Mato and Bobb, can you give me a stealth + cha check to see how nonchalant you can can be on your way out.

[Jack_Spade]

Stealth+Cha: 10d6t5 2

Rather chalant than non-chalant, Bobby moved down the steps - which wasn't particular surprising considering his form.

[gilga]

Seeing her colleagues depart the stairs, AM hit the gas and gets the car as close to them as possible. A bit distressed that Jawsei is still outside. She extends her spell defense to her team and eagerly waits for their return.

>> I am as close as I can, just get in, we need to get out ASAP.

[Beta]

Jawsey keeps an eye on the ganger approaching the building, but also on their car.  He wants to be able to give warning if things are about to get hot, but he doesn't want to have to play 'hunt the body'

[Lorebane24]

Bobby and Mato hastily make their way down the fire escape and through the courtyard, past junkies palming for a hit, and past a Halloweener carrying a dripping raw steak of something in his hand.  They duck into the car and Bobby takes the wheel (I think he was the designated driver).  The car crawls out of the parking lot and creeps along the road for about a block before he straight up floors the pedal and tears back towards the Barrens.

Scouting the Matrix, AM picks up panicked chatter and sees the 'Weener's icons darting around in a panic.  She makes a call to Mr. Liu, who is at first a bit cranky at being woken up, but his ire quickly turns into relief at hearing you've retrieved his son.  He tells you he practically out the door and on your way to the office with the nuyen, and that the car will be ready tomorrow afternoon.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby had resumed his human form, riding naked in the car. Now that he had to keep his concentration only on one spell, it felt much easier to stay under the radar.
"Well, that worked out quite nicely. I wouldn't have minded ripping those 'weeners a few new orifices, but all in all I think we come out ahead. Still, we might want to have a little conversation with the boy before his daddy picks him up. I'm pretty sure there is more going on here that we should know about."

[Tecumseh]

"Best run is one where you don't fire a shot, neh?" Mato says, repeating the oft-heard line from the trids without really believing it. He can't help but privately bemoan the absence of stabbing, shocking, punching, choking, or otherwise physically incapacitating a Halloweener or two, especially since gangers are so guilt-free. He thought for sure he was going to at least throw one off the balcony, or land on one after jumping off the roof, or maybe clothesline one while sprinting as fast as a car.

"I'm not sure how much we're going to get out of him," Mato says to Bobby. "He was dazed and confused beforehand, and transforming him into a dog isn't going to be any easier on his mind. He lost a hand, probably traumatically, and needs medical attention. Unless one of our finger wigglers can coax the information out of him without his say-so, I doubt he'll give us much."

Then, out of an abundance of precaution, he texts the rest just in case the dog is conscious enough to hear:

<<Let's talk about what we want to do about that card though.>>

[gilga]

AM texted >> If we are to steal the card, the easiest time is during the meeting.
 Honestly, I think it is none of our business though. We got paid to a job, we did it.
Going after our first client like that will get us a nasty reputation, and this card is too 'one of a kind'. 


I tell you what I think, we get the money soon. We give him the kid- I don't want to be responsible for his medical condition. If he does problems with delivering the car as agreed then we'll raid his home to get paid. Keeping our integrity and reputation intact.

[Tecumseh]

<<The job was the boy, and that's job's almost done.>> Mato comms.

<<But let's not forget the fact that we have a second "client", hmm?>> It's an allusion to the agency's financial backers. <<Even if we don't act on it, we might want to pass this one up the chain.>>

[Beta]

Jawsey had followed Mato and Bobby back to the car, getting into his body just in time to move aside as everyone piled in.

Once it appeared that they were not being followed, Jawsey offered

<<I think going after our client's card is far more trouble than it is worth at the moment.>>

He let that sit for a moment, and then added

<<However his research could entirely be worth copying.  He should know anything happened, and if these cards are making such waves it could give us an important jump start to understanding these new complications.>>