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Tangled Currents - Revenant

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adamu

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« Reply #30 on: <04-09-16/0735:17> »
Wednesday, 20 November, 1434; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle

The woman only smiled at first, looking into John's lifeless eyes. Then left the room, returning moments later with a bottle of still spring water on a tray with a glass of ice and wedge of lemon. Only after she had poured the water and proferred it to him did she answer his question.

"We have been in Seattle for only three months now, but business has been very busy. This city has qualities that afford us rich opportunities. It has been a struggle for our team, but we receive diligent and thoroughgoing support from our parent in Korea." Script completed, she asked, "Is there anything else I can offer you, sir?"

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #31 on: <04-09-16/0752:21> »
"Yes actually." John said, touching the woman lightly on the sleeve of her upper arm. "Since I'm waiting here anyway, could you give Mrs. Meyers... or rather Mrs. Cagle as you know her a quick heads up that John is here to deal with her contract and that she please should stop making a scene. She tends to be a bit... over exited - especially if her parents involve themselves in her life. I'd rather not have her embarrass herself and them."

[spoiler]
Con - Persuation: 5d6t5 3  [5d6t5=6, 6, 6, 1, 4]
Sleight of Hand: 10d6t5 4 [10d6t5=2, 2, 5, 4, 1, 6, 5, 5, 3, 4]
John tries to mark the assistant with a stealth tag, so he might be able to find out in which room Crystal is kept
[/spoiler]
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #32 on: <04-11-16/1743:47> »
Wednesday, 20 November, 1434; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle

The woman did not pull away, but in fact moved slightly closer for a moment when John touched her arm. If she noticed him plant a tag on her, she gave no sign of it. "Of course I'll speak to Mr. Lee about it right away." She bowed and retreated from the room, but her signal went only back to her desk in the foyer.

After a few minutes, the pop music that had been seeping through the door to the adjoining room went off.

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #33 on: <04-12-16/0708:37> »
John arose from his seat. It was time to get a clearer look on this operation. He opened the door and with an apologetic smile said: "Call of nature" before moving in the vague direction of the toilets. On his way he took note of the evacuation plan displayed in case of a fire. As he suspected, only one set of stairs and the elevator were available for this eventuality - and the elevator would be shut down. The fire escapes where standard mag locks - programmed to open into the staircase  in case of a fire alert.

He entered the modern, stainless steel bathrooms and went for a stall. There he liberated a generous amount of toilet paper and stuffed it into his pockets. Flushing and washing his hands followed. On his way back to the reception he nodded again towards the assistant and said: "I changed my mind. Would you mind bringing me some Scotch? Pure please, no ice, make it a double. Thank you."
before going back into the waiting room.
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #34 on: <04-12-16/1632:52> »
Wednesday, 20 November, 1434; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle

John waited only about a minute before the young Korean woman entered the room, again with a tray. On it was a tumbler of moderately expensive Scotch, neat.

As she bent at the waist to proffer the beverage, it was hard not to notice that two more buttons on her blouse had mysteriously come undone.

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #35 on: <04-13-16/0712:13> »
John appreciated the view, but quickly focused again on the beverage. With another smile and a nod he received the glass and filled himself a double measure. He sniffed appreciatively. His olfactory boosters did their best to translate the aroma but naturally there wouldn't be any intoxication.

He waited a bit more, but slowly felt annoyed. Five minutes more and he would take another look around - this time to search for Cheryl directly.
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #36 on: <04-13-16/0735:16> »
Wednesday, 20 November, 1438; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle

At four-and-a-half minutes, Mr. Lee returned. He had another man with him. Also apparently Korean. Large. Mr. Lee introduced him as Mr. Guk. Mr. Lee sat behind the desk. Mr. Guk stood beside him. Mr. Lee smiled. Mr. Guk did not.

"Very very sorry about the wait, Mr. Preston. Naturally a transaction of this sort had to be cleared with our home office in Seoul. Our people there have prepared the projections you requested. He nodded, and a rather complex spreadsheet opened itself to John's view. There were estimates of the various costs of maintaining an adult entertainer - publicity, heatlh checks, wardrobe, insurance, security, and so forth, along with amortization figures and forecast earnings based on a popularity prediction algorithm that accounted for her physical proportions, facial characteristics, age, and various psychological measures, all quantified in black and white. The main number, which apparently included a relatively modest surcharge for the company's trouble, came to fifty-three thousand nuyen.

Once John had had a chance to look the sheet over, Mr. Lee said, "As you can see, we have done our best to keep the estimates conservative without incurring too much of a loss ourselves. I assure you, the projections are highly accurate. We have been in this business for some time, and have built up an impressive marketing database. So, once your firm releases the funds, we shall be happy to help you reunite the young woman with her loving family. Unfortunately, studio time is money, and you've caught us just at the start of the production day. As a courtesy, we can delay for, say, another fifteen minutes to allow you time to make the final arrangements."

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #37 on: <04-13-16/0753:08> »
"No, no, that seems more than fair on your part. Really. We can finalize that agreement right away...
Oh, sorry. One more detail. Before we transfer the money, I'll have to have "Cheryl" sign a waiver. It really wouldn't do to get her out of this contract and  have her sign on with another company immediately after. The patience of her parents is somewhat stretched thin as it is. Would you be so kind and fetch her? As you rightly say, time is money and neither you nor I have much to spare during business hours - especially not for the whims of capricious young ladies."

If he could have, John would have sweated. This was the pivotal moment, where the whole card house could come down.
For a moment he was even tempted to just pay the man. It would empty his account and put him in debt, but it would allow the two girls to continue their life around here. But honestly he couldn't afford that - especially not for a virtual stranger who likely couldn't repay him.  He decided he'd let Cheryl make the choice... 
« Last Edit: <04-16-16/1707:39> by Jack_Spade »
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #38 on: <04-16-16/1610:54> »
The man thought about it just a hair longer than John was comfortable with, but then he smiled and said, "Of course." His lips continued moving, his voice buried somewhere in his throat - not the latest system, that.

The big guy behind him moved to the foyer door, opened it a little, and said something quietly in Korean. Then he closed the door. It left him on John's flank, which the ghost-in-a-machine did not fail to notice.

Mr. Lee continued to smile vacuously, but with a hint of amusement behind his eyes.

It took a long two minutes, but finally the door connecting to the other room behind the foyer opened. There still was no more music coming from there. A gaudily dressed young Korean man came through first, bowing a girl through with a mock-cordial flourish of his arm. Cheryl shuffled through. She was wearing a lot more make-up than she had at the coffee shop or the party. And not much else. A black thong clung to one hip, the waistband on the other side torn. Her heavy mascara ran in two rivers down her brightly rouged cheeks. Her arms hugged her breasts, her head hung in shame. But she saw the seated person and said, "John?!"

And Mr. Lee said, "To me, she doesn't seem like a rich girl out to annoy mommy and daddy. But then I have seen all kinds in this business, and have given you the benefit of the doubt, Mr. Preston. She is here to sign anything you need. There are thirteen minutes left before I must receive payment or she must return to work."

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #39 on: <04-16-16/1735:09> »
"Of course."
John smiled a hard smile at Cheryl: "Come over here, please. Just one signature and this farce will have an end."
John had stood up with his glass of Bourbon to make room for Cheryl. His shadow moved to keep him covered.
"Oh for gods sake, can someone bring her a bathrobe or something?"
At these words he turned to the man flanking him and gesticulated with his glass so that it sloshed out and splashed into the face of the man. Before the man could even blink, John had dropped the glass and pressed his open palm to the man's soaked jacket: "Oh I'm so sorry."
With those words he triggered the shock hand. The tiny electric arc flashed through the fabric, shocking the man and igniting the alcohol vapors. At the same time John had given the drone pilot the command to draw the taser from his concealed quickdraw holster and shoot at Mr. Lee: "Time to end this."

[spoiler]
We don't have to do this in combat rounds, but just for orientation, here my ini-check

Prestidigitation: 10d6t5 3 (To surprise the goon with a little fire, that will hopefully trigger the fire alert)
Shock Hand: 14d6t5 3 [14d6t5=5, 6, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2]
8S(e) + Net Successes (hopefully full against surprised target)

Ini: 14+5d6 35[5d6=4, 6, 4, 3, 4]
Quickdraw: 14d6t5 4
Fire Taser: 14d6t5 5 [14d6t5=5, 3, 3, 5, 6, 4, 4, 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 1, 2]
9S(e) AP 5 + Net Successes
[/spoiler]
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #40 on: <04-19-16/1532:34> »
Wednesday, 20 November, 1440; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle

The big guy was quivering on the floor on fire and his boss was shaking in his chair with a comical wide-eyed gaping-fish-mouth expression before Cheryl or the third guy even knew anything was happening. The computer-controlled sprinkler system reacted more quickly than they did, but once they started getting soaked the girl started screaming and the guy ran out of the room.

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #41 on: <04-19-16/1550:39> »
"Quick, now." John drew Cheryl to her feat and found time to grip Lee's jacket, dragging the man from his seat. Not slowing down, he practically ripped it from the man, ripping one arm.
Still dragging the girl behind him, he shoved the garment at her: "Cover yourself up and stop screaming."
Just as they had left the room he ignored his own advice and screamed: "Fire, fire!" and dragged the girl towards the emergency exit. Once in the staircase he stopped, made sure the girl had finally covered herself up and threw her over his shoulder.
"Don't struggle, I need to time this right."

And with that he jumped over the bannister towards the other side, extended his climbing claws to break against the wall, engaged his hydraulic jacks and jumped to the other side again, this time one level deeper. All in all it took him about 12 seconds to traverse from the 14th floor to the ground level while the girl's scream continued down the shaft.

Before he opened the door to the lobby, he pressed his hand on the girls mouth: "Shh, we have to leave the building without any more fuss than absolut necessary. We'll take a taxi and bring you home. After that I suggest you leave town and get a new ID."

And with that he went into the lobby, pulling the girl behind him.
« Last Edit: <04-27-16/0332:50> by Jack_Spade »
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #42 on: <04-21-16/1836:54> »
Wednesday, 20 November, 1441; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle

The girl had been stunned into silence by the hair-raising descent to the lobby, but John's matter-of-fact speech about being quiet and getting a new ID brought her back to her senses.

The body he was pulling along behind him collapsed to its knees, so much dead weight. And she started screaming bloody murder.

The security staff there in the lobby took immediate notice.

As they approached, the girl, heedless of the jacket falling off her near-nude body,started adding words to her shrieks. "What the fuck are you doing? That was my chance! I'm going to be a star! How will I get any parts now? Get away from me, you've ruined my whole fucking life!"

Whether or not John had wanted to get away from her or get away with her, he now faced not only the main lobby security, burly men in uniform suit jackets and stun batons at the ready, but a team of reserve security officers - three men in armor with automatic weapons. The lead man in the suit jacket was approaching slowly, and saying, "Step away from the woman and get down on your knees while we sort this whole thing out."

Then John noticed that right outside the door was a group of four flashily dressed young Asian men, standing there and smiling in at him like they'd been waiting for him all day.

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #43 on: <04-22-16/0221:57> »
"You've got to be kidding me."
John ignored for the moment the security holding a finger in a wait! motion in the air, but he spoke loud enough that they could hear.
"Your friend hired me to get you out - and now you tell me, you want to be a pornstar with those slimeballs until your face is no longer fresh enough for filming? What kind of career do you think you can have after that? Call girl might be the classiest job offer you'll get then.
You decide now - otherwise I'm gone."

talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #44 on: <04-26-16/1621:47> »
Wednesday, 20 November, 1441; Red Ribbon Productions, Downtown Seattle

The girl looked up at John but her eyes were filled with something dark and past thinking. Her answer was to scramble away from him into the waiting arms of one of the suit-jacket security men. Their leader touched his ear, glanced at the Asian thugs congregating outside the doors, and waved his men away.

The girl was ushered off somewhere, the men in suits went back behind the counter, and the response team disappeared, leaving John standing alone in the middle of the lobby, a pack of cocky Korean gangers smiling in at him like a fish in a bowl.