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[IC] New Beginnings DUSK

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Crossbow

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« on: <09-13-16/2029:17> »
         While it is easy to get wrapped up in your own little world, there is a larger world beyond you that is moving along too.  Things are happening in Seattle, some of the things impact your world, but only on the edges.  Seems like every other thing you hear or read these days has to do with tempo, drugs, or the fallout from the recent “restructuring” of the criminal underworld. It’s been a dangerous few months, even though you have managed to miss most of it, with every major and minor player in the sprawl fighting tooth-and-nail for their place.

   Clementine actually received a job offer that had the potential to return her to her former position, only the find her possible employer and his entire clan removed from consideration, as well as this mortal coil, in a fiery confrontation on the waterfront before she could even return the call.

   Snow’s Vory continue to be keeping to edges of the conflict, any serious notice from the dysfunctional families of the Mafia or the feuding Oriental syndicates having the potential to remove them from the game entirely.  Her researcher’s eye has picked up the thread of this strategy in the work she has been tasked with, including this potential ally from foreign shores she is to meet.

   But, not incredibly unsurprisingly, it is the lowlife and danger filled world of the Bullet Storm O’Conner that has the biggest change.   His old buddies and current targets of choice, the Azure Fists, seemed to have disappeared entirely.  The mysterious absence was finally explained the night before when Darryl spotted one of the members with his flame motif absorbed into another organization's colors.  Some short (no jokes) legwork later confirmed the news.  The Fists had been absorbed into the Halloweeners, they were apparently the latest attempt by the larger gang to get a foothold (fisthold?) into the Barrens.  The dwarf had delivered his info personally to his friend, along with some Caustic Kaf and a PsoydoBagel.  The adept having received his latest magical drubbing the night before after delivering a Gyro Platter to the Park, and another on the calendar for tonight (shrimp scampi).


   Even the news is obsessed with tempo, and it seems like right now, every trid channel is covering yet another tempo-fueled crime spree. Outside, the acid rain is pouring down, and the automated weather service has just put out a warning on the chance of sleet tonight. All in all, it’s a miserable Saturday morning. Wouldn’t it be nice to just get away from it all?  That is certainly the thought that Torley and Sammy must be having while they wait for a Club message to be delivered to their table at the upscale breakfast nook they were ordered be at.

   The message?   “Special request from a Ms. Johnson, a second to a fellow Club member. She has a need for a team to accompany her on a trip overseas, somewhere tropical. She wants to meet tonight, at the 77 Club in Renton. There is a room reserved for 5 o’clock.”  Included is an address and a code signal for entry.

farothel

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« Reply #1 on: <09-14-16/1210:41> »
"That's direct enough," Sammy remarked, while wondering how she was going to explain this to Marcus.  They had started speaking again and now she would be leaving already.  Not to mention the fact that her appartment would probably become a permanent party place and he wouldn't go to school at all.  She wondered who she could ask to look after him.
"I guess we better warn the others," she added, while going on the public site of the club and not finding much, except that it was private, "That club looks like it has a dress code, so Connor will need a lot of lead time to make sure he's presentable."
"Magic can turn a frog into a prince. Science can turn a frog into a Ph.D. and you still have the frog you started with." Terry Pratchett
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Necrogigas

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« Reply #2 on: <09-15-16/0439:08> »
O'Connor was staring out his window up at the dreary clouds contemplating his next move. He was at an impasse, and uncertain of how to proceed. The Azure Fists becoming a subset of the Halloweeners was not something he had seen coming. The message they left on Angus' corpse, "You ain't the only one hunting anymore bitch," suddenly had a lot more weight to it. The Azure Fists had been a relatively small gang that was able to punch above it's weight, literally, by recruiting physical adepts almost exclusively . Now they were a part of a far larger gang, one from all accounts were ten times as mean and vicious as the Fists had ever been.

O'Connor took great pride in his abilities, but even he knew that one man could never hope to win against a gang as large as the Halloweeners. It was only a matter of time before the Fists, backed by their new freak show buddies, would come after him to end things. The nature of this war had just radically changed, and he needed a new strategy. The problem was that he wasn't a very strategic person, his old strategy was track down members of the Azure Fists and shoot them in the face. It was simple, straightforward, and worked. Now, it was useless unless he was looking to get himself killed. If the Azure Fists were making new friends, perhaps so should he.

He laughed darkly at the thought, his interpersonal skills were rather lacking. He figured that there were several gangs that wouldn't look kindly on the Halloweeners trying to muscle their way into Redmond. The problem was that O'Connor knew that he wouldn't be able persuade any of them into forming an alliance. Another option was just outright joining one of the gangs, but he was hesitant to travel down that path. The Fists' betrayal has left O'Connor with some deep seated trust issues. He only agreed to join the C-Block Crasher because he needed the protection and had no other options. This time around, his options were far wider. He promised himself a long time ago that he'd die before losing his freedom again, but wasn't signing on with a gang the same thing as giving up his freedom? He didn't know what to do next, but he needed to decide soon. He continued to stare up at the clouds, the weather perfectly reflecting his mood.
« Last Edit: <09-15-16/0732:26> by Necrogigas »
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HydroRaven

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« Reply #3 on: <09-15-16/0722:01> »
The dreary Seattle landscape so familiar to Clementine looked completely foreign to the ork at times. Not only was tempo fueling more feuds in recent times, the new job opportunity she had received was instantly rescinded without Clem having any time to even ponder about it. Nonetheless, the woman went through the mental gymnastics of entertaining the offer. The appeal of belonging to a group of people that understood one's own cultural values was tremendous, there was no doubt about that. But the ork was now a member of Heaven's Devils (the name still made her wince), and she was ultimately determined to see this chapter of her life through.

Her latest bio-acquisition gave Clem heaps of extra energy, which she was burning on an almost daily basis, thanks to the grueling and demanding training regiment she had forced herself to follow. Besides an increase in laundry, the by-products of this would be undeniable, or so she told herself.

Clementine was content with her present schedule, but knew far too well that the near future held cheap Stuffer Shack meals unless the group found new work soon. Promising herself to ease back on her training, she decided that she would start looking for a job pressingly, pushing the other team members to do the same.
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Crossbow

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« Reply #4 on: <09-15-16/1718:33> »
O'Conner gets a message from Darryl:

"Got some good news for you.  There was a terrible accident at Fort Lewis last night during a live fire exercise.  Rounds landed on vehicles that were supposed to be transporting weapons and ammunition from the field.  The trucks and the cargo area  total loss, but our friend is fine and we will see him next week."

Thvor

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« Reply #5 on: <09-15-16/1740:26> »
"That's direct enough," Sammy remarked...."I guess we better warn the others," she added.

Sam nodded, continuing to eat his eggs Benedict. Working overseas could be fun, though he'd miss Lyra. Since it was Club work, he knew she'd understand, but..."Would be nice if this is the sort of trip we can bring guests on. Wonder what the job is," he said.
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Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #6 on: <09-16-16/0058:33> »
Snow's view of the weather outside the high-rise hotel window is hampered by the rise and fall of the man making love to her.  The evening before had gone swimmingly; her gown was just right, her hair was perfect, she had known the right things to say about the right subjects.  She had met the man in the lobby of his very nice hotel and the man had been impressed with her physical assets from the first look.  His eyes had  touched her body as she walked across the expansive space and his hands had touched her body in the rear of the limousine that quietly whisked them away to a nice restaurant, where they shared a cozy private booth and got to know each other better, which translated to him getting a good idea of what her body felt like.  Dinner had been great and the man even had some nice moves on the dance floor afterwards.  Back at the hotel, her clothes were almost off her in the elevator to the penthouse, and certainly were as soon as they entered the suite.  She had entertained the man for some time before he finally drifted off to sleep, exhausted.  For her part, Snow has played this game many times over the years and knows her job.  She has always considered it a bonus that she actually likes sex and is very good at it.  She gives the client her undivided attention and makes him feel that he is the man of the hour.  He does not even know the small things she does to make him a great lover.  He certainly tells her that she is worlds better than his shrewish wife, who just does not understand his needs any more.

He has wakened in a rather needy mood and is now in the process of showing her that he has stamina  to spare.  He has told her that he has a dinner meeting this evening that he wants her to attend with him and she knows that the extra gown she had brought with her will be just perfect.  The evening is taken care of, but that leaves most of the day and almost all of tomorrow for recreation, and it is pretty clear what sort of recreation the man is interested in.  Not for the first time, she silently thanks her corporate and Vory trainers for what they had taught her about being a Corporate Hostess.  She is well trained and skilled at this sort of thing and enjoys it, making it a win win for herself, the client, and the Vory.
« Last Edit: <09-16-16/0109:29> by Mercy Merchant »
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farothel

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« Reply #7 on: <09-16-16/0200:49> »
Sam nodded, continuing to eat his eggs Benedict. Working overseas could be fun, though he'd miss Lyra. Since it was Club work, he knew she'd understand, but..."Would be nice if this is the sort of trip we can bring guests on. Wonder what the job is," he said.

"In the message it says 'a team', so I assume it's for the entire team," Sammy said, "and if I recall correctly, most tropical places are not very nice places, so I doubt they would only need two smooth talkers, even if they can sling mojo.  I'm contacting the others and we can still see.  We need to ask anyway, now that we're an official team."

She composed a text message to the rest of the team, including Sam of course.
Me and Sam have a possible line on some work from a Ms. Johnson. She has a need for a team to accompany her on a trip overseas, somewhere tropical. She wants to meet tonight, at the 77 Club in Renton. There is a room reserved for 5 o’clock.  You guys interested?
"Magic can turn a frog into a prince. Science can turn a frog into a Ph.D. and you still have the frog you started with." Terry Pratchett
"I will not yield to evil, unless she's cute"

HydroRaven

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« Reply #8 on: <09-16-16/0238:33> »
The message from Sammy, which would otherwise have been a welcome sight on a morose day, actually annoyed Clementine a little bit. Surprised at her own reaction, Clem took a moment to glance at the calendar before composing her answer. Realizing this was surely a product of physiological processes, the ork shrugged off the negative emotions and began typing away.

<Yes, I know the place, I'll wait for you by the entrance.>
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Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #9 on: <09-16-16/0312:42> »
Various parts of Snow's body are quite busy when the message comes in and she delays answering until the man finishes and rolls off of her to lay quivering on the bed beside her.  She puts her head on his chest and curls in next to him as she composes her answer. 

>>Team.  Snow.  Very interested.  I am working this evening, though, and sadly unavailable to make the dinner meeting.  My current obligation is set to end tomorrow evening.  I know the 77 Club from previous employment and it is highly unlikely that you will be able to contact me while inside due to some quite good shielding there.  I also understand that the J might require an answer tonight and so leave my vote in Starlet's hands.  I assume that no other details are available at this time or you would have mentioned them.<<.
« Last Edit: <09-16-16/0322:59> by Mercy Merchant »
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Necrogigas

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« Reply #10 on: <09-16-16/0319:53> »
O'Conner gets a message from Darryl:

"Got some good news for you.  There was a terrible accident at Fort Lewis last night during a live fire exercise.  Rounds landed on vehicles that were supposed to be transporting weapons and ammunition from the field.  The trucks and the cargo area  total loss, but our friend is fine and we will see him next week."

She composed a text message to the rest of the team, including Sam of course.
Me and Sam have a possible line on some work from a Ms. Johnson. She has a need for a team to accompany her on a trip overseas, somewhere tropical. She wants to meet tonight, at the 77 Club in Renton. There is a room reserved for 5 o’clock.  You guys interested?

O'Connor received both messages around the same time. He gave a small smile at them. The machine gun was almost here, and there was a new job. He needed a bit of good news after what Darrel told him about the Azure Fists and Halloweeners. He sent off replies to quick succession.

<[Recipient: Darrel | Text]: Great news. Seems like the team's got another out of town job in the pipeline. Don't know how long this is gonna last, so I'm gonna drop off the backend payment for the machine gun. I might as well also give you the scratch for parts and labor for both projects, so crunch those numbers. I'll be by in an hour or so.>

<[Recipient: Heaven's Devils | Text]: I'm in. What do you know about the meet place?>

<[Recipient: Sarah Barefoot | Text]: I've got a meeting for a job tonight, so that shrimp scampi is gonna have to wait. Anything I can do to further my training while I'm away?>
« Last Edit: <09-16-16/0515:06> by Necrogigas »
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farothel

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« Reply #11 on: <09-16-16/0658:01> »
<[Recipient: Heaven's Devils | Text]: I'm in. What do you know about the meet place?>

Sammy looked at the message.  At least O'Connor was getting smart and asked about the meeting place.  It might however be something to send at the entire team, just to be sure.

I've also been to the place once.  It has a quite strict and upscale dress code, so put on your best clothes.  And as Snow says, it's not possible to talk to people outside, but we'll come up with something to let you know what's going on."
"Magic can turn a frog into a prince. Science can turn a frog into a Ph.D. and you still have the frog you started with." Terry Pratchett
"I will not yield to evil, unless she's cute"

Necrogigas

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« Reply #12 on: <09-16-16/0925:26> »
<[Recipient: Heaven's Devils | Text]: I'm in. What do you know about the meet place?>
Sammy looked at the message.  At least O'Connor was getting smart and asked about the meeting place.  It might however be something to send at the entire team, just to be sure.

I've also been to the place once.  It has a quite strict and upscale dress code, so put on your best clothes.  And as Snow says, it's not possible to talk to people outside, but we'll come up with something to let you know what's going on."

O'Connor read over the reply with a sour look, *Is that high-and-mighty slot mocking me? I feel like Starlet's mocking me.* His "best clothes" was that suit he'd been forced to buy for the Needle. He figured that it didn't qualify as upscale, so once again he was going to be forced to waste perfectly good nuyen on bulldrek. He changed out of his casual clothes into the off the rack suit. He needed a better one, but figured it'd raise suspicion if he walked into a shop and dropped a fat wad of nuyen while dressed like the Barren rat that he was. In O'Connor's experience suspicion lead to cops, and cops lead to dead cops. As fun as it'd be, he didn't need the hassle before a meet.

O'Connor made a brief stop at Darrell's shop to give him a credstick loaded with enough nuyen to get both Swiss Army Rifle and Veiled Wrath completed. Darrell had, rather uncharacteristically, not made an quips about the suit. O'Connor, rather than touched, was annoyed that his oldest (only) friend was treating him with kid gloves after breaking the news about the Fists. He let it slide for the moment, he had things to do and figured Darrell would be his regular smartass self after he got back from the job.

From the gunshop, O'Connor made his way Downtown to the fanciest, most overpriced shopping district he could find. If the rest of the team was going to constantly make snide comments about how he dressed, then he was going to get the last laugh by looking better than all of them combined. After nearly a half hour of looking for a place to park, O'Connor went from store to store window shopping. He was horrified by what a lot of the shops had on display. Apparently something called  the Gagaistic Effect was trending at the moment, *What the fragging hell? THIS is what people consider high fashion?*

O'Connor was about to give up when the window display of Vashon Island made him stop. The suit in the window, labeled as the Synergist Business Line, was displayed with a bitching looking longcoat. Though there were obvious differences, such as a lack of large buttons, the high collar and sleek design reminded him of an ancient vidflick that'd been a particular favorite of his as a child, Equilibrium. He entered the shop, and was reminded of why he hated leaving the Barrens. The shop clerk, an elven women of undeterminable age, looked him up and down critically. The look she gave him told O'Connor that his off the rack suit offended her. Nonetheless she gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes and asked if she could help him. Her eyes were disdainful and judgmental, they screamed, You don't belong in here. He give her a forced smile in return, *Don't I fragging know it.*

He motioned to his suit, "Obviously this ain't my part of town. The client I'm protecting tonight has demanded that his guard be dressed "classy." The suit also has to be tailored, because of course it does. Then to top it off, I wasn't told about these demands until this morning and I'm suppose to meet the client at five o'clock." He threw in air quotes and a theatrical huff, laying it on thick seemed to work for Torley. He motioned towards the window display, "The one in the window caught my eye. I already know it's gonna cost me an arm and a leg. How many other body parts is it going to cost to have it tailored and ready for tonight?"
« Last Edit: <09-16-16/1014:34> by Necrogigas »
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Thvor

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« Reply #13 on: <09-16-16/0942:32> »
"In the message it says 'a team', so I assume it's for the entire team," Sammy said, "and if I recall correctly, most tropical places are not very nice places, so I doubt they would only need two smooth talkers, even if they can sling mojo.  I'm contacting the others and we can still see.  We need to ask anyway, now that we're an official team."

She composed a text message to the rest of the team, including Sam of course.
Me and Sam have a possible line on some work from a Ms. Johnson. She has a need for a team to accompany her on a trip overseas, somewhere tropical. She wants to meet tonight, at the 77 Club in Renton. There is a room reserved for 5 o’clock.  You guys interested?

Sam wasn't sure if the actress had misunderstood, or was simply brushing him off, but he wasn't going to worry too much about it either way. Sopping up the last of the Hollandaise sauce, he kept an eye on the flow of messages from the team. After thinking about it for a bit, he sent a note to Con. Hey--if you need something to help with the dress code, let me know. Consider it payment for the dancing lessons.

[spoiler][OOC]
Sam's comment from earlier was about potentially bringing Lyra, Tommy, and Marcus to the tropics (though obviously not on the run itself!), not about whether or not the job was for the full group. Sam's probably got a good enough read on Sammy by now that he could figure out where the disconnect was, but I'm not worrying about it. ;)

Also, I'll leave it to GM's discretion on what sorts of clothing Sam can acquire for Con (assuming Con's willing to go along with it). The fancy-shmancy stuff from Arsenal costs around 3k nuyen, but also has an availability rating of 12. I'm not sure from the RAW if that just comes into play when buying on the black market; seems like Sam should be able to take Con into a posh downtown store and "Pretty Woman" him pretty easily, buying the stuff retail.
[/OOC][/spoiler]
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Necrogigas

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« Reply #14 on: <09-16-16/0952:40> »
After thinking about it for a bit, he sent a note to Con. Hey--if you need something to help with the dress code, let me know. Consider it payment for the dancing lessons.

<[Recipient: Torley | Text]: Thanks, but I got it covered. Consider the lessons my way of repaying you for that ballsy move you pulled heading to the Needle.>
« Last Edit: <09-16-16/1727:36> by Necrogigas »
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