Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: Poindexter on <09-06-14/1550:48>
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[Big Slade's Truckstop, off I-10, just west of Jacksonville, Florida. November 5th, 2075, 10:56PM]
It's supposed to start cooling down by this time of year, but it never does. Tonight feels like you're swimming in a hot tub. The rain is just enough to make you need the windshield wipers, but not enough to keep them from screeching on the glass. It's been drizzling since 3:00 and even though the sun has been down for hours now, it's still over 90 degrees outside. Everything you own, wear, or touch is wet. Fucking swamp air smells horrible even when it ISN'T polluted, which around here, it is.
Big Slade's is more than a little terrifying for the uninitiated. This is the kind of place horror movies are filmed in. Everything in the entire parking lot is dingy from the daily rain and humid smelly air. Of the 20 or so pumps, maybe 3-5 of them still work, and each of them have a line of at least 3 or 4 cars, angrily waiting their turn for the precious gas. More than one little scuffle has broken out over who's taking too long or who's next in line over the hours. There's only one working light in the whole parking lot, near the working pumps. That, and the headlights from the customers are the only illumination at this point. The clouds of bugs swarming around them are TRULY impressive this far out in the country.
It's not THAT far, mind you. Still close enough to the city proper to be claimed as part of the Dixie Sisters territory, but not really close enough for there to be much city police intervention in anything, as it's still technically outside the city limits. It's a good place for a meet if you don't mind being deep in the territory of a violent inbred street gang, that is. Somewhere inside this filthy place full of rats, roaches, and probably worse, sits a blonde human with a red ballcap, blonde mustache, and mirrorshades. His name is Mr Johnson, and according to the message from One67, he has some decent paying work for you tonight. "A quick job, and an easy one, but one that absolutely cannot get fucked up. That's why he's willing to shell out for the heavy hitters. Meet him at 11:00." the message to Baba Yaga's comm had said. She got the message around 5:30 today, and called up the rest of the team right away. Time to make some money.
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Baba saw the taxi when she pulled up, thinking it a bit suspicious as she headed to the truck stop to scope it out. She didn't like the looks of this one bit, but if this place was packing any kind of security, it didn't show it. There probably wasn't much to worry about, but even so, she didn't live to be as old as she was by not being careful. She decided to find a good vantage spot a distance away to park and wait for the meet, making sure to point her car in a place that gave the front facing camera a clear view of the truck stop, as well as the parked taxi. As she pulled the parking brake and killed the engine, she sent a few mental commands to her comm and pulled up a small ARO in the corner of her field of vision that was a direct feed to her Americar's sensors.
God damn, shit looked like she was filming from a potato. She made a mental note to set aside some nuyen for a sensor upgrade for the car. These stock cameras were terrible.
'It'll have to do for now. Won't see anything unless its big and obvious, but that's better than nothing.' She thought, shaking her head a bit at the feed. She turned to regard the line of cars for a moment, hoping none of that nonsense spilled her way once this meet started. A clever johnson would have hidden some backup among the rabble, some breeder in a trucker hat and a car that needed gas, with a big fraggin' gun in the trunk if things went sour. She didn't know how clever this johnson would turn out to be, so she made sure to keep her guard up. But as she sat and watched, the people came in and left as quickly as the lines allowed. Didn't mean his intended muscle wouldn't turn up closer to the meet time, but none of the bozos already here looked like they'd be any trouble.
As the clock kept ticking, and the taxi stuck around, she grew steadily more suspicious of it. Despite her age, her eyesight was as keen as ever, though some of that probably had to do with the fact she had cybereyes. She examined it pretty closely for a few minutes and scoffed a bit at what she saw. Somebody had a lookout on the meet, a lookout in a taxi with a running meter, over an hour before the meet was going to happen. She assumed it was the Johnson's backup, a combo of lookout and getaway, and she didn't like the look of it one bit. This Johnson had enough cash to blow on a taxi to sit idling for over an hour, but not enough to afford a better ride than a beat down taxi? It didn't make sense to her.
'This guy better not have blown all his cash on that damn taxi. Hell, I just might have to charge this asshole extra for dragging me out here.' She thought to herself, looking disdainfully at the area around her. She could smell the swamp air a little even inside her car, and she had little desire to deal with the mosquito infestation she could already feel crawling around her skin. Not for the first time, she was glad she had orthoskin. She'd like to see those little buggers bite through the bulletproof biofibers that made up her epidermis.
She turned her attention back toward the line of cars, wondering whether any of them were packing. How many of them were cybered? Who might have a piece stashed under the seat or in the trunk? She made a mental note to invest in a millimeter wave scanner. She used to have one, didn't she? Man, what happened to that thing? She had been at this job long enough that she had lost more gear than she still owned at this point. Was it in her old bulldog? Last time she saw that thing it was sinking to the bottom of a bog, and she remembered tossing the scanner in the glovebox once or twice. Oh well, didn't matter now. She'd have to buy a new one, regardless.
She checked the time, noticing that she had about 20 minutes, and the rest of her group should be turning up soon. A bit of anxiety ran through her as she thought about the girl, her baby girl, and what she could do. She wasn't sure what to think about her daughter being a shadowrunner. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, she supposed, and the fact she was awakened too. She absently glanced backwards, towards the trunk of the car, where the claymore was sitting in its sheath. She didn't know if magic was genetic, but her father had that weirdness in his veins. He would have been so damn proud.
Baba shook her head and frowned, grabbing her Savalette off the passenger seat and making sure it was loaded and ready. There was no point thinking about the past. She didn't have time to consider the future, either. It was the present she needed to worry about.
'Better see what this Johnson wants. Sooner I get out of this dump, the happier I'll be.' She thought to herself, holstering her gun before opening the door and stepping out into the grimy, swamp air. Her nostrils flared and she grimaced. She thought she had gotten used to the swamp smell by now, but this place had a special aroma of shit and swamp gas that was downright insulting to her senses.
>>Initialize Call
>>Contact: Hornet
>>Establishing Connection. . .
">Hornet, you read me? I need an ETA. We're 20 minutes to go, and I think Johnson's already waiting.<" She thought the commands to her DNI, and the comm did the rest, her thoughts becoming audio on Hornet's end, though she had her Persona set up with a mechanized voice. She still had a subvocal mic, though it honestly felt a bit redundant to her, ever since she got the 'jack in her skull.
She stood by her car and waited for a reply, taking out a cigarette and lighting it to bide her time. The nicotine took the edge off, made it easier to handle the shaking. She had the Jazz on her, top left pocket, two poppers loaded and ready to go. She could almost taste it already, and her nerves were tingling in anticipation for her next dose, but she resisted. She took a long drag of tobacco smoke into her lungs and tried to steady her hands. She hadn't had a hit in almost a week. She'd been trying to cut back, only use it when she needed the edge in a fight, but the Jazz was in her blood. The withdrawal was going to start eating at her if she didn't take some soon.
She hoped she'd need to shoot something today. She wanted an excuse.
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>>Initialize Call
>>Contact: Hornet
>>Establishing Connection. . .
">Hornet, you read me? I need an ETA. We're 20 minutes to go, and I think Johnson's already waiting.<"
Hornet is giving his Peugeot a workout when he receives Baba’s call, Fuck, meant to be there already. Piece of crap can of a car.
>>”Hey Baba, I’m 5 minutes out, this place still the same drekstain that I remember or did One actually set up a meet somewhere that a chemical seal isn’t mandatory equipment? Not a bad idea to be on the lookout for Dixies by the way, been some rumblings around them lately, don’t know how stable they are right now."
As Hornet sidles into the parking lot around 5 mins later he calls up Baba again.
>>”Hey, where you parked? I’d rather our rides kept each other company while we’re inside."
Hornet then parks as close to Baba’s car as space allows, checks himself one last time in the rearview mirror and then steps out to walk over to Baba, then in the most cloying tones he can muster he says "Well hello there sweetheart, what’s a girl like you doin’ all by her lonesome in a place like this?"
"Fixing to break something smaller than me."
At the unusually gruff reply to Hornet’s ‘amorous’ advances he dials it back immediately, "Jeez, the kid has gotten you wound up real tight hasn’t she? She still staying with that odd elf fellow? Just stay frosty and don’t kill the Johnson from sheer frustration, alright? I’ll back you up against anyone else though." Hornet can’t keep the grin of his face as he delivers the last remark, he and Baba both know that any situation where she’ll have to rely on backup in a fight from him is a situation in which they’ll be proper fucked.
Deciding to try and get Baba’s head in the familiar runner groove, Hornet pops up an AR street map of the area. "How familiar are you with this place? If we need to make a speedy exit we can take this exit here to the east. We’ll need to go against traffic for a second but then there is this short cut where the rail is broken that’ll put us right on the 295 heading north. Also like I said, the Dixies seem to be having some sort of leadership crisis so that is something to be aware of as well. You got an ETA on the kid?"
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At the unusually gruff reply to Hornet’s ‘amorous’ advances he dials it back immediately, "Jeez, the kid has gotten you wound up real tight hasn’t she? She still staying with that odd elf fellow?"
Baba sighs, taking another drag from her cigarette and massaging her temple with her free hand.
"As far as I know. Boy gives her comfort, at least, but I hope to hell there's nothing more than that going on between 'em. Her father would have shat a brick..." She trails off a bit, instantly regretting bringing up Athena's father, and quickly changes the subject.
"The jury's still out on how this whole thing between us is gonna play out. Right now, I think she's afraid of me. Probably smart of her. I'd be afraid of me, too." She mutters, continuing to smoke.
"Just stay frosty and don’t kill the Johnson from sheer frustration, alright? I’ll back you up against anyone else though."
Baba chuckles at that. Francis backing her up in a jam? Yeah, that'd be the day. Not to sell the man short, but she was pretty sure she could throw a gun more effectively than Francis could shoot one.
"How familiar are you with this place? If we need to make a speedy exit we can take this exit here to the east. We’ll need to go against traffic for a second but then there is this short cut where the rail is broken that’ll put us right on the 295 heading north. Also like I said, the Dixies seem to be having some sort of leadership crisis so that is something to be aware of as well. You got an ETA on the kid?"
She tosses the cigarette to the ground and crushes it under her boot, making a fist and willing her fingers to stop shaking. It was time to get professional.
"You know this part of town better than I do. If we need to bail, that shortcut of yours looks good. I'd rather not have to murder some Dixies tonight, but if they start something, you can bet I'll be the one finishing it." She looks towards the truck stop, wondering where exactly they'd end up finding the Johnson.
"Haven't heard from my girl yet. Don't know how punctual they plan to be. Might have to have a chat with Johnson before they show up." Baba replies.
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"You know this part of town better than I do. If we need to bail, that shortcut of yours looks good. I'd rather not have to murder some Dixies tonight, but if they start something, you can bet I'll be the one finishing it." She looks towards the truck stop, wondering where exactly they'd end up finding the Johnson.
"Haven't heard from my girl yet. Don't know how punctual they plan to be. Might have to have a chat with Johnson before they show up." Baba replies.
Hornet carefully avoids making any note of Baba having a slight case of the shakes, knowing full well that when it came time to throw down she’d be on point. "Appreciate that but let’s not stir up that hornet’s nest of inbred maniacs unless we absolutely have to. How ‘bout you shoot her a text asking for a status report and unless they’re just moments away we’ll head in to find this Johnson of ours?"
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Baba nods, diving her focus as she thinks the command at her Commlink. That strange feeling of anxious nerves comes back again as she thinks how best to word her text.
>>Send Message
>>Contact: Baby Girl
>>"Do you have an ETA?"
She frowns for a moment, but sends the message anyway before looking at Francis.
"Just sent her a message. We'll see if she responds or if we do this part ourselves." She explains simply.
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Athena laces up her boots and heads out the door. She's been watching Zippy do a check on Taco and load up what he needs now. She could see he had a lot on his mind. His conversations with himself were always more animated when he was at war with himself. Something had him agitated. Maybe the meet with Johnson. Maybe with Baba Yaga. Maybe Francis. He was all right for the most part, but he just didn't keep it together around people much.
Getting into the passenger seat, she closed the Korean made door a little hard. It had that cheap sound as it closed. A door too light not fitting just right. Cheap. The price was right at least.
She sunk back into the seat and made herself as small as possible, pulling one of the knives from her brace. She tried flicking it around her fingers. A nervous habit she had.
Yay, off to meet mom...
She didn't know what she had been expecting when she had met her mom, but it wasn't that. There was no tearful reunion. No empathy for what she had gone through. Nothing.
Maybe that's why orks were so violent. No wondering people think we need to be killing them off...
She shook those thoughts free as her eyes puffed up and images of a knife flicking over throats danced behind her eyes. Most orks had died on their knees, but almost all had looked her in the eyes as they died. There was never any doubt what they thought in those moments. A young ork girl killing for the Humanis. The betrayal. She hadn't told her mom about that. She wasn't sure she ever would. Someone as hard as Baba wouldn't even hesitate to kill her over something like that. Unlike Athena's kills, she would be completely justified in it.
This line of thought was always ugly. She put her earphones in and popped some music on. It looked like it would be a quiet trip for her. As Zippy climbed into Taco, she shifted her attention to the window, watching the world go by...
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Zippy had spent most of the day in the garage with his friends because needed their support tonight. Zippy didn't care much for the missions. He preferred to stay away from guns, and he hated to see people getting hurt. He especially didn't like being the one doing the hurting. The runs have kept everybody fed with a roof over their heads though, and it's been one way for Athena and Baba spend time together.
Athena was ready well before time to go, and it took a moment for Zippy to notice her there. His face lightened a little and he waved at Athena when he noticed her arrival. "Hi! Did you get bored? Sorry. I've been in here all day, haven't I... Are you ready? I'm not. I was just talking to Growlie. He's nervous. He never likes seeing us go out on these missions. He doesn't want us to get hurt, ya know? Zippy stopped there and looked over at Taco's open trunk for a moment. "But he knows this is part of our lives now."
Zippy walked over to Growlie and touched it between the handlebars and rubbed it a little like someone might pet a dog's head. He stared at Growlie for a moment before he started talking again. "No, we have to go chummer. Baba and that fancy man are waiting for us." He paused another moment and smiled a little. "I know you want to go, but Athena is coming too. We're going to ride with Taco this time. You stay here with Gale and Bronco. I know you like Gale!. You guys have fun while we're gone, ok?"
Zippy's face scrunched up a little and he looked a bit anxious again. "Everything's going to be ok! We've done this before, remember? Athena's mom is strong and she scares people. The fancy man keeps us out of a lot of trouble too. If Athena and her mom can't stop them, then I'll just push everyone into Taco and drive us away safely!"
Getting into the passenger seat, she closed the Korean made door a little hard. It had that cheap sound as it closed. A door too light not fitting just right. Cheap. The price was right at least.
Zippy heard the door slam and let out a little sigh. I need to look into that. Taco can't be happy getting his doors slammed all the time. Maybe I'll talk to Juan tomorrow. I have a hard time talking to Taco sometimes, but Juan always knows what to do. "Right." He got up and walked over to Taco and asked him how he was doing. "¿Cómo estás amigo? I uh...er.." Zippy shrugged. "Let me finish loading you up and we'll roll out."
Most of Zippy's gear was already loaded up, but he still had to load up his guns. The spot where his weaponry is kept was actually cleverly recessed into the wall, and a portion of the wall slid down to grant access if you sent it the correct passcode. It'd probably be simple for a decker to hack, but it was convenient feature for zippy because it kept the guns out of sight and out of mind.
Zippy pulled out his comm and accessed the program he needed to open his hidden wall safe.
>Secure Safe Systems
>>Send Access Code
>>>MEZ10262018
He then walked to the wall and clicked send. Zippy waved his phone in front of the safe and heard the beep that signified the wall slide had received the signal. He grabbed both guns and checked to make sure that each gun's safety was turned on before placing them carefully in the trunk. Spare ammo was kept in the bottom drawer of his toolbox, so he grabbed his remaining ammo out of the drawer and placed it in trunk as well.
With that, Zippy closed the trunk door and yelled, "Vamanos!" He climbed into Taco and smiled at Athena. "We're running a little late." He smilled real big then and started the engine. "But that's OK. We'll still be a few minutes early!" He pulled out his comm and clicked the program that sent the automatic door opener the signal to open. While it was still opening he quickly pulled up his digital map of Jacksonville and used it and his existing knowledge to mentally plot the quickest route to the truck stop. He had to go with the third quickest route because he wasn't on a bike, but he was confident that the two would still make it to the meet early.
As soon as the door had opened far enough for taco to make it out, Zippy floored it and Athena and he hurtled towards the meet. Zippy felt much more comfortable being back on the road and behind the wheel. He wasn't quite calm, but he wasn't so agitated for the moment. He chatted the whole way there, and he didn't seem too concerned with how quiet Athena was. He knew the best thing he could do was be there, smile and talk like he always did. She'd listen if she wanted to.
True to his word, Zippy and Athena made it to the meet just a few minutes early. He didn't like the look of the place, though. It was dark, and there were so many people. They were all arguing and fighting too. He parked Taco near near the others and killed the lights.
Zippy stepped out and waved at Baba. "Hi, Baba! We made it. We left late, but it was ok. Taco got us here on time." Zippy gave Taco a pat after that. "Athena's here too!" Zippy turned and pointed at Athena and then beckoned her over with his hand. "Come on, Baba's here!." Zippy turned and looked at Hornet and looked down at the ground. "Oh...hi, Hornet."
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Almost as soon as Baba sent the message, Zippy pulled up in the weird beat up sedan he called 'Taco' with her baby in the passenger seat.
Baba just looks at Zippy with a look between confusion and annoyance. She was fairly certain that he's got a few screws loose, if he even has any screws left at all.
'Only thing holding that kid's brain together is rust around the seams.' She thinks to herself. There wasn't time for chit chat, though.
>>Initialize Network Call
>>Contacts: Hornet, Baby Girl, Zippy
>>Encrypting Signal. . .done
>>Establishing Connection. . .
">Alright, let's get this underway. We have a Johnson somewhere in that truckstop. According to One67, he should be a blonde guy, with a baseball cap and mirror shades. Money should be good, so lets not keep him waiting.<" Baba just walks towards the truck stop without saying a word, the synthesized voice of her matrix persona doing the talking for her directly into the comms of her three companions. She steels herself and puts on a serious look, walking with a purpose and a palpable aura of professionalism.
Time to get down to business.
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Baba turned arround shortly after Zippy stepped out of Taco and waved at her. Zippy stutter stepped and started after her when she stepped away, and he received the comm call as she walked off.
>Incoming Conference Call
>>Baba, Fancy man, Athena
>>>Answer
">Alright, let's get this underway. We have a Johnson somewhere in that truckstop. According to One67, he should be a blonde guy, with a baseball cap and mirror shades. Money should be good, so lets not keep him waiting.<"[/font]
As Baba finished speaking, Zippy slowed down. He glanced from her, to the crowd at the pumps, back at Taco, to the rest of the group, and finally back at Baba Yaga. Then he stopped and spoke into his transceiver. "Uh..I.. Taco feels a little uneasy. He doesn't like the crowd over there. Um..I'm going to stay with Taco. I'll let the Fancy..uh Hornet do all the talking. If I have a question I'll text him...Will you send me a video feed of the meeting Baba?"
With that, Zippy turned around and looked sheepishly at the ground as he walked around the others back towards Taco. He smiled a weak little smile at Athena as he passed by. When he got back to Taco he popped the trunk and pulled out his 950 and a box of rounds. He pocketed 10 of the rounds in case he had to go on foot. If this guy tricks us, I'll make sure everyone's safe. I can do this... He climbed back into Taco, rested the rifle in the passenger side floorboard, and waited.
Zippy reached into the back seat and put his helmet on, and then he closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and let them out slowly while mentally counting down from 10 to 1. When he opened his eyes, Taco was quiet. The crowd still unnerved him, but as long as no one made a move towards the car, he focused solely on the feeds he was getting from his Comm. He was ready to snatch up his rifle at a moments notice or peel out and pick up the team. Whatever was needed, Zippy would be there. He took one more breath and flipped the visor down.
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Athena stepped out of the car after arrival and took one earphone out to listen. She had realized by the look on her mom's face that this was not going to be a bonding moment. She slipped the knife back into the brace without looking and popped her earphone back in, activating the microphone on her commlink to listen to the environment around her. She glances at Hornet and then took a moment to calm herself. As she was trained to do, she dropped active counterspelling down on everyone and switched her perception to the astral plane. She had trained herself to maintain astral perception for long periods to watch for hostile magic.
Mom may not be warm and friendly, but at least she is present.
She falls in between Hornet and Baba, trying to look like she belongs.
Etiquette to fit in:
3d6t5: 0 [3d6t5=2, 2, 4]
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Big Slade's isn't quite as nasty inside as the exterior would lead you to believe, although the whole place does REEK of cigarettes. The door chime announces your arrival and none of the patrons seem to look up, each being too involved in their own business to care. Athena gets a couple odd looks from one or two truckers, but none that linger long enough to invite scrutiny. Off to the left of the entrance is a small counter with a grill, where several questionable looking foods are prepared and sold by a pair of middle aged dwarf women. To the right, shelves of various truck stop type products; chips, candy, motor oil, etc. Between them, a few feet back from the entrance is a small dining area with about 20 tiny tables with booths. Maybe 6 of them have someone sitting at them. A jukebox plays a lively country/rock/pop/dance tune that was popular about 6 years ago, but no one is dancing or even really nodding their heads. Dreary would be the best word to describe the place, all in all.
Facing away from you, you spot the red ballcap on the head of a man at one of the booths and approach him. His blonde hair and mustache can be seen as you get around the side and by the time he turns to face the three of you, the look of recognition on his face assures you that this is the man you're looking for. On the table sits a pair of mirrorshades. He's a human, who looks to be in his mid 30's wearing a brown jacket, blue jeans with holes in the knees and worn scuffed cowboy boots. An ashtray with about 10 cigarette butts in it sits on the table, as does a cup of coffee.
"Set down." he spits almost like one word, thick with his swamp-billy accent. Once the three of you are seated, he looks a tiny bit spooked as he does a bit of math. Then, directed at Baba Yaga, "Ah thought there's four a yeh. The fuck're yew trahna to pull, Bob?" He speaks quickly and quietly. That combined with his thick accent makes it more than a little tough to understand him. His left hand is in the pocket of his jacket at the moment.
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>>Initiate Video Stream. . .
>>Contact: Zippy
>>Sending Stream
Baba quickly sends a few commands to her DNI and streams a visual to Zippy of everything her Cybereyes are seeing, including her own AROs and commands. The stream from her Americar's sensors is still in the bottom corner of her vision and she glances at it briefly before headed into the Truck Stop, walking with purpose. She keeps an eye out, looking everyone over for any weapons or cyber, before focusing her attention on the Johnson.
Perception Check: Intuition 6 + Perception 6 + Visual 2 + Vision Enhancement 2 (http://orokos.com/roll/219864): 16d6t5 10 8 Hit Limit
Baba sits with a stern look still on her face, eying the Johnson up and down. Zippy would be able to see the way her vision passes him over, lingering on any weapons he may have on him, or anything else she deems worth her notice. She does this quickly though, before looking him in the eye.
"Ah thought there's four a yeh. The fuck're yew trahna to pull, Bob?"
Baba looks at him with a neutral expression that bordered on a frown, looking almost put off for having to respond to such a stupid question.
"He's waiting in the car. If you got a problem with that, I don't care. I came here to talk business, so let's get down to it, shall we?" She states simply, opening her arms a bit in an invitation to start speaking.
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@Ryo, pretty much everyone in here is packing something, though most are unarmored. No one appears to have any overt combat chrome or more than one weapon. Of the weapons, most are pistols. You're pretty sure the bald biker's girlfriend has a roomsweeper in her purse, but she's too busy inhaling her scambled "eggs" to look like a threat. The more you look around, the safer you feel here. These are just regular people with regular jobs, trying to make it and not get fucked with.
Baba looks at him with a neutral expression that bordered on a frown, looking almost put off for having to respond to such a stupid question.
"He's waiting in the car. If you got a problem with that, I don't care. I came here to talk business, so let's get down to it, shall we?" She states simply, opening her arms a bit in an invitation to start speaking.
He nods his head quickly. "Fair nuff." He takes his hand out of his pocket, bringing with it a battered meta-link with a faded wood grain decal on it. Sliding it across the table, he says "Burn job. Gotta be done by 5am tenaht. 25k a head. E'erything else's own the link. Deal?"
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He nods his head quickly. "Fair nuff." He takes his hand out of his pocket, bringing with it a battered meta-link with a faded wood grain decal on it. Sliding it across the table, he says "Burn job. Gotta be done by 5am tenaht. 25k a head. E'erything else's own the link. Deal?"
Baba stares at him a moment, wondering if he was actually going to say something coherent before realizing that was too much to ask for. She wasn't sure if he was offering to pay each of them 25k, or if he was implying that she was going to have to 'burn' some people, and that he was going to give her 25k per dead guy. The latter sounded like a swell job to her, but she doubted this bumpkin could afford that. It was probably the first one. So what did he mean by a 'Burn' job?
"I'm gonna have to check the 'link for details before I agree to that price, unless you want to be more forthcoming yourself." Baba replies, reaching for the commlink with her eye on the Johnson, seeing if he intends to stop her.
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He nods his head quickly. "Fair nuff." He takes his hand out of his pocket, bringing with it a battered meta-link with a faded wood grain decal on it. Sliding it across the table, he says "Burn job. Gotta be done by 5am tenaht. 25k a head. E'erything else's own the link. Deal?"
Baba stares at him a moment, wondering if he was actually going to say something coherent before realizing that was too much to ask for. She wasn't sure if he was offering to pay each of them 25k, or if he was implying that she was going to have to 'burn' some people, and that he was going to give her 25k per dead guy. The latter sounded like a swell job to her, but she doubted this bumpkin could afford that. It was probably the first one. So what did he mean by a 'Burn' job?
"I'm gonna have to check the 'link for details before I agree to that price, unless you want to be more forthcoming yourself." Baba replies, reaching for the commlink with her eye on the Johnson, seeing if he intends to stop her.
He takes his hand off the link and nods as you pick it up, adding only, "Trap house. Gotta go. Tenaht."
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Baba added 'being impossible to understand' to her reasons to charge this guy extra.
"Short notice costs extra. And a whole Trap House? That's also extra. Not to mention it sounds like the kind of thing that might draw undue attention. And, of course, there's the cost of resources to consider." Baba lists off, mentally adding 'dragging me out to the middle of nowhere', 'wasting my time on stupid shit' and 'being a disgusting breeder' to that list.
"What do you think, Hornet? 25k a piece sound fair to you?" Baba turns to Hornet and gives him the floor, knowing the man was a much smoother negotiator than she was.
Negotiation Teamwork test: Charisma 2 + Negotiation 1 + Know a Guy 2 (http://orokos.com/roll/219873): 5d6t5 3
(So +1 Limit and +3 dice to Hornet. The bonus is only +2 dice if Know a Guy doesn't apply.)
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Zippy turned and looked at Hornet and looked down at the ground. "Oh...hi, Hornet."
Francis acknowledges Zippy with a small nod, "Hello, Zippy. Glad you made it on time."
">Alright, let's get this underway. We have a Johnson somewhere in that truckstop. According to One67, he should be a blonde guy, with a baseball cap and mirror shades. Money should be good, so lets not keep him waiting.<" Baba just walks towards the truck stop without saying a word, the synthesized voice of her matrix persona doing the talking for her directly into the comms of her three companions. She steels herself and puts on a serious look, walking with a purpose and a palpable aura of professionalism.
Time to get down to business.
Francis just grins slightly to himself as Baba is her usual brusque and bad ass self, nodding to Athena as she falls in line with him and Baba. "Evening kid, make sure you keep your eyes open while Baba and I are dealing with the Johnson, OK? You’ll have to be the eyes in the back of our heads."
After Zippy pipes up through the comm Francis replies, >>"Not a bad idea actually, I’ll be happier knowing that you’re looking after the cars. Don’t know how well you know this ‘hood but if we need to get away in a hurry there is an excellent short cut towards the 295. I’ll send you an ARO with a map."
>>To: Zippy
>>Attach: map.img
Once inside Francis looks around the place which only further cements his belief that this is most definitely not his kind of place, following Baba to the Johnson’s booth Francis takes an inside seat so that Baba can get out of the booth in a hurry if action is needed. Looking over the Johnson there is a spark of recognition in Francis’ mind, as he gets comfortable in his seat he composes a text mentally and sends it off,
>>To: Baba Yaga, Athena, Zippy
<<Johnson is Dixie but trying to hide it, so don’t be surprised if he's a bit unhinged. This might be some internal Dixie biz.>>
"Burn job. Gotta be done by 5am tenaht. 25k a head. E'erything else's own the link. Deal?"
"Short notice costs extra. And a whole Trap House? That's also extra. Not to mention it sounds like the kind of thing that might draw undue attention. And, of course, there's the cost of resources to consider." Baba lists off, mentally adding 'dragging me out to the middle of nowhere', 'wasting my time on stupid shit' and 'being a disgusting breeder' to that list.
"What do you think, Hornet? 25k a piece sound fair to you?" Baba turns to Hornet and gives him the floor, knowing the man was a much smoother negotiator than she was.
"Well Baba, I’d say you’ve already mentioned most of the hindrances ahead of us. But the biggest problem is that we either need to clear out the house before setting it on fire, which certainly won’t be no picnic or we set the fire regardless of whether there are folks in there or not." At this point Francis looks the Johnson dead in the eye, "In which case we’re talking about wetwork and that’ll be double what you just offered us."
-
Athena stays on the Astral plane. She tries not to look at anything too closely. The problem with being well trained in assensing is that even the ugly stuff becomes easy to spot. She mostly focuses on looking for magic or spirits. She nods at Hornet's greeting and tries a small smile but she's sure it does not come off right. Perception required a little concentration to keep you from getting nauseous. Making her way into the meet, she opts to sit one booth over to keep a little distance, but close enough to hear what's going on.
>>Initiate Video Stream. . .
>>Contact: Zippy
>>Sending Stream
Baba quickly sends a few commands to her DNI and streams a visual to Zippy of everything her Cybereyes are seeing, including her own AROs and commands. The stream from her Americar's sensors is still in the bottom corner of her vision and she glances at it briefly before headed into the Truck Stop, walking with purpose. She keeps an eye out, looking everyone over for any weapons or cyber, before focusing her attention on the Johnson.
Perception Check: Intuition 6 + Perception 6 + Visual 2 + Vision Enhancement 2 (http://orokos.com/roll/219864): 16d6t5 10 8 Hit Limit
Baba sits with a stern look still on her face, eying the Johnson up and down. Zippy would be able to see the way her vision passes him over, lingering on any weapons he may have on him, or anything else she deems worth her notice. She does this quickly though, before looking him in the eye.
"Ah thought there's four a yeh. The fuck're yew trahna to pull, Bob?"
Baba looks at him with a neutral expression that bordered on a frown, looking almost put off for having to respond to such a stupid question.
"He's waiting in the car. If you got a problem with that, I don't care. I came here to talk business, so let's get down to it, shall we?" She states simply, opening her arms a bit in an invitation to start speaking.
Athena does her best to not pay attention to this. Part of their training was to seek approval and it was hard not to be shocked by how her mother responded.
-
"Well Baba, I’d say you’ve already mentioned most of the hindrances ahead of us. But the biggest problem is that we either need to clear out the house before setting it on fire, which certainly won’t be no picnic or we set the fire regardless of whether there are folks in there or not." At this point Francis looks the Johnson dead in the eye, "In which case we’re talking about wetwork and that’ll be double what you just offered us."
"F'yall git them fuckin jukies out first or not is on yall. I could give a sheyit. Jess need the house gown. And aint no "undue attention" neither. Dope houses burn up all the tahm and no one cares. Tonight aint gown be no diffrnt." He taps the table with his fingers as he does some math in his head. "But i git short notice and all. I can do 30, but that's as fur as I can go."
-
Baba frowns a bit as she recognizes the neighborhood the house was in. She had a bad feeling this may end up being a conflict of interest for her.
>>Network Call
">I don't like the looks of this job one bit, especially with the house in Krubb territory. Hornet, keep him talking. I need to make a call.<" Baba keeps her face neutral as she sends a few more commands to her DNI. Camm was in with the Krubbs. Hell, he may very well be in with that specific house, and she wasn't about to burn down part of a contact's turf without getting confirmation first.
>>Send Message
>>Contact: Camm
>>"There's a Trap House out on St. Augustine Road, looks like it's in Krubb territory to me. I need info on it. What can you tell me?"
-
>>Send Message
>>Contact: Camm
>>"There's a Trap House out on St. Augustine Road, looks like it's in Krubb territory to me. I need info on it. What can you tell me?"
After about 30 seconds, you get a reply.
>> Incoming Message
>> Contact: Camm
>> Reply: That's news to me, girl. I can ask around if ya want. Might take a minute. Wiz?
-
>> Incoming Message
>> Contact: Camm
>> Reply: That's news to me, girl. I can ask around if ya want. Might take a minute. Wiz?
>>Send Message
>>Contact: Camm
>>"Soon as you can, Camm. In something of a hurry."
Baba frowns slightly, not sure what to think of this. Camm wasn't exactly a low level member of the Krubbs, and specifically dealt in drugs, so the fact he didn't immediately know about the house raised a red flag to her. What house in Krubb territory did this Dixie want them to burn down, and why was he trying to convince them it was a Trap House?
>>Network Call
">Full Disclosure; Just contacted someone I know in the Krubbs that's a drug dealer. If anybody should know about a trap house at that address, it's him, and he had no idea what I was talking about. He's checking into it now, but this job is starting to sound fishy to me.<" Baba looks to the Johnson, knowing that sitting there silently might get him antsy, and decides to speak up.
"So the people that may be in this house aren't part of the job, then? Whether they live or die won't affect our payment." She asks for clarification.
-
">I don't like the looks of this job one bit, especially with the house in Krubb territory. Hornet, keep him talking. I need to make a call.<"
>>”Yep.”
Francis keeps haggling with the Dixie Johnson without much hope of shifting his stance on what constitutes a fair price for the job in front of them, simply killing time while Baba does her thing.
-
>> Incoming Message
>> Contact: Camm
>> Reply: That's news to me, girl. I can ask around if ya want. Might take a minute. Wiz?
>>Send Message
>>Contact: Camm
>>"Soon as you can, Camm. In something of a hurry."
Baba frowns slightly, not sure what to think of this. Camm wasn't exactly a low level member of the Krubbs, and specifically dealt in drugs, so the fact he didn't immediately know about the house raised a red flag to her. What house in Krubb territory did this Dixie want them to burn down, and why was he trying to convince them it was a Trap House?
>>Network Call
">Full Disclosure; Just contacted someone I know in the Krubbs that's a drug dealer. If anybody should know about a trap house at that address, it's him, and he had no idea what I was talking about. He's checking into it now, but this job is starting to sound fishy to me.<" Baba looks to the Johnson, knowing that sitting there silently might get him antsy, and decides to speak up.
"So the people that may be in this house aren't part of the job, then? Whether they live or die won't affect our payment." She asks for clarification.
He shakes his head slowly and grimly. "Nope and nope. Nahce an simple. We gotta deal?""
-
Zippy continues to sit in Taco and monitor the meet through Baba's eyes. Literally. He has been listening to the exchange between the blond man and Baba intently. I hope we can clear the house out before we set it on fire. We can talk about that later though. He grabs his comm and sends baba a quick message.
>Send message
>>Baba
>>>Baba could you please send me the information on the location? I'd like to figure out the best route to take while everybody is negotiating and figuring out who this house really belongs to.
He pauses a minute then decides to go ahead and state his intentions. "I...um, I know we have to burn the house..but..can we scare everyone out first? If the fixer doesn't care...and we still get paid..lets do it right, yeah? If it doesn't work out that way in the end I understand..we gotta get paid." Having said what he needed to say, Zippy falls silent and continues monitoring the meet.
After a minute or two, something starts...itching in his brain. If this house isn't Krubb, and it's in Krubb territory, who owns it and why does Dixie want to burn it down? Zippy keeps an ear open and an eye on the feed, but he thinks back and tries to recall any rumours that he might have heard about in the area.
-
Baba sends Zippy the address, then hears his reply about the house.
>>Network Call
">I don't kill people I'm not paid to kill unless they get in the way of a job. Clearing people out is Plan A. Of course, that assumes we take this job as it stands at all. If this Johnson is trying to trick us, the night will not end well for him. Just depends on what Camm says.<" Baba replies. She then proceeds to take out a cigarette and light it, being deliberate about it, to delay a little for Camm to get back to her.
"Trap house. Burned to the ground. Gotta be gone by 5 AM. We're not getting paid to kill nobody, just to take down a house. Do I got all that right?" She asks, taking a draw on her cigarette. "Is the fire a requirement, or do you just want the house gone and don't care how we do it?"
-
"Trap house. Burned to the ground. Gotta be gone by 5 AM. We're not getting paid to kill nobody, just to take down a house. Do I got all that right?" She asks, taking a draw on her cigarette. "Is the fire a requirement, or do you just want the house gone and don't care how we do it?"
He nods his head at each point as you speak, his cigarette ash falling on the table. "Yep. Yew got it awl raht." At your next question, he looks a little amused. He cocks his head to the side a bit as he thinks briefly. "Naw, I spose it jess needs ta be gown." He chuckles a tiny bit to himself before leaning his elbows on the table and adding "So, we guud on thirty? We got us a deal?"
No word from Camm yet.
-
Suddenly, Zippy recalled a nugget of info he had overheard a while back, and his eyes popped wide open. I remember that area! "Baba! I keep my ears open, and my friend..he knows his way around a deck too. I heard something recently that might be what we're dealin with...I heard about some real good Bliss coming from the Krubb. I found that interesting, so I got my hands on a hit... Well, it's good. I don't use much...if I have a bad day, if the meds mess with my head, or if my head just gets too crazy for me...I'll self medicate a bit, you know? This stuff is way higher quality than the stuff the Krubb usually slings.
That just interested me more, man. So I dug a little deeper. I heard that there's someone in the Krubb trying to go independent.. Whoever it is, they're not big yet..but their product is huge. If someone picks this guy up..it's gunna be trouble for the Krubb. Anyhow, Twine is trying to make a move.. he wants to snuff this guy out. He supposedly has some big shot street sam out of New Orleans looking for the guy. Stomper? No..uh..Curbstomper! This guy takes ears for a souvenir and hes supposed to be tough. I'm not going to say he's as good as you, Baba....We do need to be careful though. I hear he's into voodoo too...I don't know if that means hes awakened or not. He might just be a believer instead of a practitioner. I don't know...but he's made a name for himself."
-
">Curbstomper? Figures.<" Baba shakes her head slightly, before remembering that she's still talking to the Johnson.
"I'm familiar with this area, and it looks like Krubb territory to me. Do you know if this trap house is being protected by the Krubbs? A bunch of junkies is one thing, but armed gangers standing in our way is another. Easily handled, but that's the kind of thing I'd like a heads up about." Baba continued to stall, wondering what was taking Camm so long to reply.
">I know Curbstomper. He's an asshole, and you won't see me complaining if we have to put bullets in him. Especially if he's meddling with voodoo spirits...<" She represses an urge to shiver at the thought of voodoo spirits. ">If he is, and we end up crossing paths with him, we'll get to see my girl in action. That's your specialty, right?<" She directs this towards Athena, trying to sound encouraging, though it came off a little forced. She was still getting used to this whole 'parent' thing, and still didn't know how to really talk to her daughter.
">Still, it sounds like this house may be owned by someone independent of the Krubbs, who Twine also wants to see six feet under. That significantly reduces my conflicts of interest. May even get to poach a reward from Curbstomper and get paid twice.<" She made a mental note to mention that to Camm, if his information confirmed her suspicions.
-
"I'm familiar with this area, and it looks like Krubb territory to me. Do you know if this trap house is being protected by the Krubbs? A bunch of junkies is one thing, but armed gangers standing in our way is another. Easily handled, but that's the kind of thing I'd like a heads up about."
"Ya betchyer ass it is."
It's been about 5-7 minutes since you messaged Camm. Still no answer.
-
">Curbstomper? Figures.<" Baba shakes her head slightly, before remembering that she's still talking to the Johnson.
"I'm familiar with this area, and it looks like Krubb territory to me. Do you know if this trap house is being protected by the Krubbs? A bunch of junkies is one thing, but armed gangers standing in our way is another. Easily handled, but that's the kind of thing I'd like a heads up about." Baba continued to stall, wondering what was taking Camm so long to reply.
">I know Curbstomper. He's an asshole, and you won't see me complaining if we have to put bullets in him. Especially if he's meddling with voodoo spirits...<" She represses an urge to shiver at the thought of voodoo spirits. ">If he is, and we end up crossing paths with him, we'll get to see my girl in action. That's your specialty, right?<" She directs this towards Athena, trying to sound encouraging, though it came off a little forced. She was still getting used to this whole 'parent' thing, and still didn't know how to really talk to her daughter.
">Still, it sounds like this house may be owned by someone independent of the Krubbs, who Twine also wants to see six feet under. That significantly reduces my conflicts of interest. May even get to poach a reward from Curbstomper and get paid twice.<" She made a mental note to mention that to Camm, if his information confirmed her suspicions.
At the mention of her name, Athena turns her face toward Baba and smiles. It's not likely to come out right. The Astral Perception changing the look to be kind of through her as opposed to at her and the parts of Baba's aura that come to the surface make her uneasy and off balance. The smile ends up forced. She stays quiet though and nods. Not sure if anything needs to be said. she suddenly remembers this is all happening through her headphones and takes out her commlink and types.
I'm good with it.
She tries to sound confident but she knows it doesn't come across that way.
-
She looks to the Johnson and takes a moment to assense him.
8d6t5: 2 [8d6t5=2, 2, 2, 4, 1, 5, 2, 6]
http://orokos.com/roll/220325
Edge
5d6t5: 1 [5d6t5=4, 5, 3, 2, 4]
3 Total.
-
Message > Mom, Zip,San Fran (Francis)
This guy is really scared. The way he's talkin' to mom, I'd say something else is pushing him over the edge. If one of you has got some cram on them, I'd bet he would open right up.
-
Athena's typing on her comm is starting to make the Johnson visibly nervous. He's starting to suspect that the group is stalling for some reason and he doesn't like it.
"Look, I wasn't lookin fer no fuckin' bullshit here. We got a deal or what?"
-
"Look, I wasn't lookin fer no fuckin' bullshit here. We got a deal or what?"
Francis looks perfectly at ease in his corner of the booth as the Dixie started getting more nervous and glancing towards the exit. Trying to nip any thoughts about running for it in the bud Francis leans forward addressing the Johnson, "Settle down Mr. Johnson, don’t go doing anything stupid now, we’re taking your job. We just want to make sure all our duck are in a row, this is all business as normal here. Like you said yourself, the house is in Krubb territory and you don’t fuck around there without having your shit straight.” Francis pauses for a moment maintaining eye contact with the seemingly overwhelmed Dixie, "Now the question is if you want to tell us what is really going on with that house, because it sure as hell isn’t just your average traphouse, am I right? You do realize there are absolutely no positive outcomes from withholding important information from the people working for you, don’t you?"
-
"Look, I wasn't lookin fer no fuckin' bullshit here. We got a deal or what?"
Francis looks perfectly at ease in his corner of the booth as the Dixie started getting more nervous and glancing towards the exit. Trying to nip any thoughts about running for it in the bud Francis leans forward addressing the Johnson, "Settle down Mr. Johnson, don’t go doing anything stupid now, we’re taking your job. We just want to make sure all our duck are in a row, this is all business as normal here. Like you said yourself, the house is in Krubb territory and you don’t fuck around there without having your shit straight.” Francis pauses for a moment maintaining eye contact with the seemingly overwhelmed Dixie, "Now the question is if you want to tell us what is really going on with that house, because it sure as hell isn’t just your average traphouse, am I right? You do realize there are absolutely no positive outcomes from withholding important information from the people working for you, don’t you?"
The johnson drums his fingers nervously on the table, puts his smoke out and lights another, seeming to consider your words. He looks at you really close, sizing you up before responding. "Thank this aint a dopehouse? Walk up in thar and see fer yerself." He takes a long drag off the smoke. "Thang is, It's sorta, whutcha maght cowl an... experimental partnership." Another drag off the smoke. "Sorta, a secret partnershiyp. Weyal, come tomorrow mornin, the secret's gown be aht. An ah caynt have thayt." He raises his eyebrows a bit. "An thayts all thar iys to it."
-
Baba considers the Johnson for a moment, making sure he's not hiding anything else. Judge Intentions Charisma 2 + Intuition 6 (http://orokos.com/roll/220595): 8d6t5 0
Deciding he's probably on the level, she shrugs.
"As long as we get paid, that house will be gone by morning." She insists confidently.
">Any ideas on how we're going to pull that off? I'm personally thinking fire might be too slow, and too easy to put out. I don't wanna have to wait around all night watching the house to make sure it burns. A few demo charges in the right places and the whole thing will topple in seconds.<"
-
Baba considers the Johnson for a moment, making sure he's not hiding anything else. Judge Intentions Charisma 2 + Intuition 6 (http://orokos.com/roll/220595): 8d6t5 0
Deciding he's probably on the level, she shrugs.
"As long as we get paid, that house will be gone by morning." She insists confidently.
"Fuckin A. Nah thar's only one contayct in that link ah gave yeh. Yew hiyt me up own it when it's awl duhn and we'll meet uhp." At that, the man stands up, reaches into his pocket and produces a credstick, also with the same type of wood grain decal as the meta link. He says "Yer boah SixSeven sayd it wuz twenty perceyent upfruhnt." leaves it on the table and walks toward the front door. As he nears it, a yellowcab driven by a human pulls up at the curb. Without missing a beat, the Johnson opens the rear door and steps in. Moments later, the cab is gone, leaving the three of you here among the sights and smells of Big Slade's truckstop. Even compared to Hornet's apartment, this place reeks. Athena doesn't mind so much. She's made due with worse.
-
That man is as ugly on the inside as he is on the outside.
Athena glances at Hornet and Baba as she says it.
-
Baba smiles slightly at the look in Athena's eyes, the way she seemed to look into people, instead of at them. She remembered her father using that trick to read people, some kind of magic sight the mages could do. It was a useful trick, and he always did like to complement her aura, whatever that was.
"Come on, we should meet up with Zippy and discuss how best to do this. At the very least, we're gonna need to find something flammable." Baba remarks, standing from the booth and heading back out towards the vehicles.
-
That man is as ugly on the inside as he is on the outside.
"I’ll believe that well enough, them dixies are a vile lot." As Francis stands up he picks up the credstick left by Mr. Johnson, "But I guess their nuyen spends as well as anyone’s else." Once Baba has cleared the way out of the booth Francis follows her out of the bar going towards the cars.
>>”What do you guys say, should we start off by finding a relatively safe place to stow some of the cars?”
-
">I'll send my Americar back home on auto pilot. I've never cared for driving.<" Baba replies, nodding at Zippy and disconnecting her visual feed to him before heading to her trunk.
>>Send Command: Americar
>>Pop Trunk.
The trunk pops open as she approaches it and she pulls out the duffel with her HK XM30 without missing a beat, picking up the claymore and slinging it over her back with the other arm before slamming the truck shut.
>>Send Command: Americar
>>Return Home.
Immediately after, the Americar starts up and drives off on its own, returning to the garage behind her place she had programmed as its home location.
"Which one of you is driving?" Baba asks, pulling out her Ballistic Mask and putting it on. She was immediately grateful for the respirator, completely eliminating the smell of the swamp and pollution. "We're on a time limit, so lets not hang around."
-
With the meeting over and the team leaving the truck stop, Zippy relaxed just a bit. He's never cared too much for social encounters, and he is glad to have avoided this one.
">I'll send my Americar back home on auto pilot. I've never cared for driving.<" Baba replies, nodding at Zippy and disconnecting her visual feed to him before heading to her trunk.
"I..appreciate you guys covering the meet. Thank you. I've pulled myself together a bit for the mission, but...I'm still not to keen on interacting with people.
"Which one of you is driving?" Baba asks, pulling out her Ballistic Mask and putting it on. She was immediately grateful for the respirator, completely eliminating the smell of the swamp and pollution. "We're on a time limit, so lets not hang around."
At the mention of driving, Zippy gives his biggest, happiest smile. "That'd be me! You hurt people. Hornet talks to people. Athena does magic. Me? I drive. I like driving. Nothing better. Wish Growlie was here. He's the best. Be hard to do a mission with a dirt bike though. Growlie understands." He took another couple deep breaths, popped the trunk and turned the lights back on. "Uh..anyhow, feel free to transfer any gear you need over to Taco. If we need more space, I can send some of my gear with your car and I'll come get it from you later."
Zippy stopped to consider the options ahead of him before continuing. "How are we going to handle making our way to the house? I recall the area. Like I said..sometimes on a rough day I need more than my meds. The roads are usually clogged with junk, and its never the same streets. The Star patrols keep tabs on the comings and goings from the edge of Krubb territory, and I'm sure the Krubb takes note of unknown vehicles entering their turf." Zippy flashes another huge grin. "We don't need to worry about anyone catching us. I don't see us going unnoticed though."
Zippy trailed off and took one of his dreads between the fingers of his right hand and gently rubbed it between them before continuing a few moments later. "If I'm not mistaken, there are corps across Phillips from Krubb territory near the location. If anyone feels like walking, we could make it to the house within a half hour tops I think." He grinned again. "But I could be off, walking's not my style. Not that I have style. That's the Fancy Man's department. No, riding suits me more. Too bad Growl..." Zippy stopped and sharply shook his head a few times. His dreads fanning out haphazardly from underneath his biker helmet. "Sorry. Anyhow, I think that might be the safest approach. Although that leaves us vulnerable after we light the house up."
Zippy suddenly lights up and looks at Baba hopefully. "Baba. Do you know of any safehouses near the building we have to burn? If so we could use option one or two to get to the mission, and lay low nearby until its safe to collect our reward. We may want to use a different car on the way out if we drive in and stick around. Someone might remember Taco from that night that one house on Augustine burned down, you know?
-
"Yeah, I know a place. One of Camm's holes, but it'll do if we need a place to lay low." Baba lights another cigarette before tossing her gear in Zippy's car.
"Trap house probably has a car somewhere. If looking out of place is a problem when we're leaving, we could always boost a car that looks like it belongs and ditch it on the other side." She eyes the line of people waiting to buy gas, getting an idea.
"You got an empty gas can in there?" she points to Zippy's car.
-
Athena watched everyone making preparations with that quiet jealousness she always had. It would be nice to have something to do, to occupy her mind. The problem with having nothing to focus on is you dropped into daydreaming and "what if's...". She found her gaze drawn to the claymore her mom wore. She had never seen her mom use it and often wondered where it came from. It seemed a little out of place even though Baba wore it with a practiced ease.
She waited until everyone was getting into the car, forcing herself to not just hop in and ostracize herself from everyone. She knew she would just make herself look brooding. She already appeared moody enough.
-
"I’d like to dump off my car at home and pick up a few things, it’s more or less on the way and we can stop by somewhere to pick up what we need on the way there. If you would follow me Zippy I’d appreciate it."
Francis hops into his Peugeot and drives off home stopping by at a gas station in a slightly better part of town picking up 5 jerry cans with gasoline and a few wiping rags. When he gets home he parks his car and gets his second Colt and a 2 more clips of ammo before heading back down to the rest of the gang.
-
"Yeah, I know a place. One of Camm's holes, but it'll do if we need a place to lay low." Baba lights another cigarette before tossing her gear in Zippy's car.
"Trap house probably has a car somewhere. If looking out of place is a problem when we're leaving, we could always boost a car that looks like it belongs and ditch it on the other side." She eyes the line of people waiting to buy gas, getting an idea.
"You got an empty gas can in there?" she points to Zippy's car.
Shaking his head, Zippy replied, "No, sorry. I left them in the garage. Your friend's spot might be just what we need tonight though!
"I’d like to dump off my car at home and pick up a few things, it’s more or less on the way and we can stop by somewhere to pick up what we need on the way there. If you would follow me Zippy I’d appreciate it."
Francis hops into his Peugeot and drives off home stopping by at a gas station in a slightly better part of town picking up 5 jerry cans with gasoline and a few wiping rags. When he gets home he parks his car and gets his second Colt and a 2 more clips of ammo before heading back down to the rest of the gang.
The team followed Francis to the store in Taco before trailing him home. Francis fetched his extra gear at home and piled in with the rest of us. "Does anyone have any more suggestions? We're not far from the destination now. We need a clear plan of action before we finish the trip."
-
"The gas is a good start, but those jerry cans are going to be a slow dumping process. We should pick up some containers that will shatter, like glass bottles. Then we either fill them with gas, or just get a high proof alcohol in the first place, and make some molotovs." Baba suggests, sitting in the back of Taco and starting to assemble her HK XM30 into a carbine with an underbarrel launcher.
Agility 7 + Automatics 5 (5, 1 minute) (http://orokos.com/roll/221034): 12d6t5 3
Agility 7 + Automatics 5 - 1 (5, 1 minute) (http://orokos.com/roll/221035): 11d6t5 4
"My plan of action is pretty simple. We show up, and we do a cursory look of the place. What kind of defenses they've got, how well the thing looks like it'll burn, and how populated the place is. Once we got an idea of what we're dealing with, we light up our molotovs and aim for unpopulated rooms. The fires should get anybody inside running for the exits. Then we toss some jerry cans into the rooms that are on fire. If the place empties out, we can go through and dump the rest of it on everything that'll burn and bail. Shouldn't be too long to get the whole place going up in flames." She slams a few pieces together, pulling the barrel out and sliding in the shorter carbine barrel, just in case she needs to fire at close range.
"Somebody will probably try to stop us. If they do, I'll shoot them." She checks her clip to make sure it's loaded before putting it in the gun and chambering a round.
"I'm sure my girl has some magic she can probably use." Baba remarks, remembering the way her father would pass out for a few seconds and come back knowing an entire building layout. He used to say he could project his astral presence and move around outside his body. She didn't pretend like she knew how that worked, but she hoped Athena did. "You can project your astral thing, right? That'll help with the scouting. Maybe you could find an empty place that's hard to get to, like the attic, and start some magic fires up there. A few molotovs in the windows, someone may run for the extinguisher and think he can make a difference. The entire roof on fire? Nobody's sticking around for that. They'll all clear out if they value their hide."
-
Yeah. I can do that. I'll start top down and light up anything I can. I can make some preparations on the way.
She sits back into the seat making quiet preparations. She would be on her own in the astral plane, but no sense worrying them about it. It's one of the places she felt equal.
-
They'll all clear out if they value their hide.
"That's assuming everyone is fully conscious, the odds of which are fairly low. I'd really prefer not to burn some poor junkie bastard alive if we can avoid it. If Athena can have a look around in astral before we start setting fires that would be great."
-
"That's assuming everyone is fully conscious, the odds of which are fairly low. I'd really prefer not to burn some poor junkie bastard alive if we can avoid it. If Athena can have a look around in astral before we start setting fires that would be great."
Baba is about to reply flippantly, but then stops herself when she remembers Athena is in the car, not wanting to look bad in front of her daughter. Instead, she looks at Hornet, and sends a command to her DNI
>>Send Message
>>Contact: Hornet
>>"Let's be realistic; people are going to die tonight. Whoever is in that house isn't going to cooperate with us and leave the building in an orderly fashion as soon as we ask nicely. If we try and go in and physically remove everybody from the building, people will resist, the guards will try to shoot us, and we start busting heads and shooting back. Our best bet for limiting casualties is to just set the place on fire and let them leave under their own power. If a few junkies get left behind, at least they'll die doing what they loved. They're most likely going to die from the smoke before the fire even gets close to them, asphyxiating while blind to the world on bliss. That's about as painless a death anybody can hope for."
-
@Baba Yaga
Mere moments after mentally composing the message and sending it to Hornet, your comm notifies you that you've got a vidcall from Camm. In less than a heartbeat, you've accepted it and his battered and bruised face appears in your head. He's calm, but pissed and although he appears to have taken a decent beating, he looks like he's had time to clean himself up a bit as well. In stark contrast to his usual high fashion custom tailored business wear, he's now wearing a wifebeater and sweats. He's nursing a black eye and a pretty nasty split lip among other minor injuries and speaks with a bit of a lisp when he talks.
"God DAMN, girl. You sure got a way of gettin all up in people's business where aint nobody belong, don't you?"
-
Baba blinks at the ARO of Camm's video call. Looks like she didn't have to kick his ass for taking so long to call her back; somebody else already did it for her.
">So I take it somebody gave you an ass beating about that house? Wouldn't have anything to do with Curbstomper, would it? I'll buy you a nice raw steak to slap on that shiner later, but now's a good time to explain what the fuck's going on.<"
-
Baba blinks at the ARO of Camm's video call. Looks like she didn't have to kick his ass for taking so long to call her back; somebody else already did it for her.
">So I take it somebody gave you an ass beating about that house? Wouldn't have anything to do with Curbstomper, would it? I'll buy you a nice raw steak to slap on that shiner later, but now's a good time to explain what the fuck's going on.<"
"Shit girl, I was hoping you could tell me. Alls I did was hit up my boy on some "Yo, what's up with the trap on SA?" type a shit. He tells me to chill and says he's coming though. Five minutes later, fuckin Twine and some BIG mawfucka with, like, a chicken-bone necklace or some shit- I dunno what his name was. We wasn't like, formally introduced or nun, wiz? The two a them come walkin in to my place, askin all kinda questions I don't know the answers to and gettin MAD heated about it. I still don't know shit about that trap, but i get the feeling they aint know shit about it neither. Only thing they got from me is that it's on SA and it's on our block*, cause that's all I know. I aint give em your name, but I had to give em something, or they were gonna- I had to give em something. They know I got the call from a runner contact of mine, and they know that said runner is oldschool. But that's all I gave em. I hope this dun fuck nun up for ya, girl. Sorry I aint had more to give ya."
* "My block" "Our block" "The block" all refer to gang territory in its entirety, more than just a single block.
-
Athena watched her mom taking a call in the front seat then sat back to concentrate. She loved this feeling. The man who had been teaching conjuring was something of a gentle soul. A stark contrast to what she grew up with. She found summoning to be soothing, even somewhat procreative. She let her sight blur as the world around her fell out of focus. She quietly brought up that heat in her mind that she imagined would be on the plane of fire and imagined herself scooping fire out and beginning to shape it. Like clay, it began to form together and she added more and more to it. She felt the power becoming difficult to control and began to sculpt the spirit.
As she started to shape the mass she dropped her thoughts into a nurturing voice...
Hello friend...
I was hoping you would come out and help me...
It shouldn't be hard, and I will let you play. I have things to burn here. I will try to keep you out of trouble. Come out and play...
As she felt the elation within the spirit grow, she slowly wove in some control.
No. Don't come out onto the physical plane yet. I'll need you to be patient. Just wait for now. You can watch and listen if you like but be patient...
She opened her eyes when she finished and quietly sat back, listening to the banter inside the car.
-
">A shame your boss wasn't willing to cooperate. I probably could have made him a good offer. I won't tell you what I'm up to, Camm, but you're a smart guy. I think you can figure out that something bad is about to happen, and Twine might want to take some rage out in your direction, thinking you're involved. You should probably prepare yourself for that.<" Baba replies, wondering if they may see some increased security now. She was honestly looking forward to it. Her hand was shaking a bit, and she could feel her mouth dry out a bit in anticipation for a hit of Jazz.
">And don't worry about the chicken-bone guy. If I run into him, he won't be around to give you any more trouble.<"
-
">A shame your boss wasn't willing to cooperate. I probably could have made him a good offer. I won't tell you what I'm up to, Camm, but you're a smart guy. I think you can figure out that something bad is about to happen, and Twine might want to take some rage out in your direction, thinking you're involved. You should probably prepare yourself for that.<"
"A'ight, I aint fixn ta ask whats up; I aint new to the game. But for real? If you got some kinda offer to make Twine, I can set up a meet between yall two. That might go a long way toward makin me come out clean when whatever happens gets done happening, wiz?
-
"A'ight, I aint fixn ta ask whats up; I aint new to the game. But for real? If you got some kinda offer to make Twine, I can set up a meet between yall two. That might go a long way toward makin me come out clean when whatever happens gets done happening, wiz?
Baba considers this for a moment, wondering how amicable Twine would be to such an offer.
">Word I hear on the street is that this house is independent of the Krubbs. Some guy used to be in with the crew, and is trying to go independent, and Twine is none too happy about it. Word is, the chicken-bone neanderthal is here to put an end to this guy's ambitions. Now, I've got my own interests in this house. And let's just say, if there's somebody inside that needs to be dead, I could be convinced to ensure that happens. So if the rumors I hear are true, then I think me and Twine could see eye to eye.<"
-
"That's assuming everyone is fully conscious, the odds of which are fairly low. I'd really prefer not to burn some poor junkie bastard alive if we can avoid it. If Athena can have a look around in astral before we start setting fires that would be great."
Zippy gave a vigorous nodding in response to Hornet. "Yeah. I like that. As long as no one inside is awakened then they won't even know, right? Maybe if we're lucky we can get everyone out safely." Zippy stopped and looked from face to face before continuing. "I'm going to stick with Athena when we step foot into Krubb territory. Uh..that is..unless there's something else for me to do? I'll bring my rifle with us too so I can back Baba up if she needs it. I've done a bit of hunting in the past, so I'm not too bad with it. "
-
">Word I hear on the street is that this house is independent of the Krubbs. Some guy used to be in with the crew, and is trying to go independent, and Twine is none too happy about it. Word is, the chicken-bone neanderthal is here to put an end to this guy's ambitions. Now, I've got my own interests in this house. And let's just say, if there's somebody inside that needs to be dead, I could be convinced to ensure that happens. So if the rumors I hear are true, then I think me and Twine could see eye to eye.<"
"Wiz. Lemme holler at dude real quick. Cool if i give him your code?"
-
">You do what you gotta do.<" Baba replies before switching channels.
>>Network Call
">Just had a call with Camm. We might have a detour coming up.<" She explains to the team.
-
It's maybe two minutes before Baba Yaga's comm lights up again. This time a simple text message.
>> Incoming Message
>> Contact: Sebastian Bellefonte
>> Message: Douglas Anderson. Fountain. Midnight.
-
"That's assuming everyone is fully conscious, the odds of which are fairly low. I'd really prefer not to burn some poor junkie bastard alive if we can avoid it. If Athena can have a look around in astral before we start setting fires that would be great."
Baba is about to reply flippantly, but then stops herself when she remembers Athena is in the car, not wanting to look bad in front of her daughter. Instead, she looks at Hornet, and sends a command to her DNI
>>Send Message
>>Contact: Hornet
>>"Let's be realistic; people are going to die tonight. Whoever is in that house isn't going to cooperate with us and leave the building in an orderly fashion as soon as we ask nicely. If we try and go in and physically remove everybody from the building, people will resist, the guards will try to shoot us, and we start busting heads and shooting back. Our best bet for limiting casualties is to just set the place on fire and let them leave under their own power. If a few junkies get left behind, at least they'll die doing what they loved. They're most likely going to die from the smoke before the fire even gets close to them, asphyxiating while blind to the world on bliss. That's about as painless a death anybody can hope for."
<<To: Baba>>
<<I know, don't have to like it and we should do what we can to minimize the death count without putting ourselves in danger. Understand we/run is priority #1>>
-
>> Incoming Message
>> Contact: Sebastian Bellefonte
>> Message: Douglas Anderson. Fountain. Midnight.
"We might have a second payday coming, Just have to meet some guy named Sebastian bellefont at the Douglas Anderson Fountain at midnight." Baba speaks up, finishing putting her gun together as she does so.
-
>> Incoming Message
>> Contact: Sebastian Bellefonte
>> Message: Douglas Anderson. Fountain. Midnight.
"We might have a second payday coming, Just have to meet some guy named Sebastian bellefont at the Douglas Anderson Fountain at midnight." Baba speaks up, finishing putting her gun together as she does so.
"OK, let me see if I can get any info real quick on this guy."
>>Search.(Sebastian Bellefont)
"Shit, there are no public hits on that name. Was at least hoping for something, you still want to head over there?"
-
Zippy tilted his head a bit and stared at hornet before speaking. "Mmm...The risk might be worth the reward? What do you think, Baba? You're the veteran here, haha..." Zippy straightened up and smiled a little. "Maybe he's using a burner comm and ID? If they know we're after the same objective then this guy doesn't want us knowing anything about him, right? Zippy nodded to himself, convinced. Don't you want to know what he has to say? I'm intrigued. I could stay in stay in the car again. That's where I'd prefer to be anyhow...if things go bad I can be there quick for a getaway. Assuming there's room for Taco to squeeze in. We could have Athena stay with me and monitor the meet from above, too.
Zippy looked down at the floor, a bit sheepish, before continuing. "Are we..um..done discussing the trap house then? No one said anything...I think it's good to have a plan before we go even if it changes..We...Uh, Well after this meet, if we go I mean, we'll probably need to head straight to the job... We don't have a lot of time left. I mean I'm sure y'all know that.. Sorry." Zippy stopped talking and got ready to roll, glad his visor was down and blocking him from the outside world.
-
"I'm going to this meet whether any of you feel like joining me or not. Figure I probably owe it to Camm anyhow. If you'd rather sit it out, follow up on the molotovs. Get some breakable containers or just hit up the liquor store for the highest proof you can pull off a shelf." Baba replies, wondering if she'll have to drive herself there, or walk. She had some time before midnight, and saw little reason to be early.
-
You know you aren't going in alone. I'll watch the meet from the outside. Going to meet a guy we don't know anything about in a public place sounds way safer that running into a distribution center that's shared by two gangs anyway.
-
Zippy shook his head at leaving Baba alone. "No. I'll drive. Are you with us, Hornet?"
-
I'm going to go keep an eye on the place...
Time to go before they disagree...
Athena leaves her body before protest can come back as anything more than a muffle.
Stay close, I may need you...
She speaks off handedly to the spirit as she sores to a height that allows her to see both the meet and Zippy's car.
-
Zippy shook his head at leaving Baba alone. "No. I'll drive. Are you with us, Hornet?"
"Of course. Baba, you want me to go with you or do you want to play it safe in case Camm got pushed harder than you thought?"
-
"Feel free to tag along, Hornet. If things go south I'll just put a bullet in his head." Baba replies.
-
@Athena
It takes less than a thought to travel the six or seven blocks to your destination and once you arrive, you're a bit surprised. There sure is a lot of activity at the school tonight! There's maybe a hundred or so auras flitting around the place, most of which are mundane, young, unaugmented, and in good health, although most are addicted to some minor thing or another. For the most part, all the auras here are a mix of happy, nervous, excited, horny, and hopefull. There are two auras that stand out like sore thumbs in this crowd. Both are older, moderately to heavily augmented, mundane, and radiate an aura of calm cool void. You're fairly certain these are the ones mother will need to meet with.
Your new spirit ally circles around the two astral forms and looks up at you with hope and joy in its "eyes". It speaks with the giddy glee of a child faced with a bathtub full of icecream.
"Are THESE the ones? Should I burn THESE two?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville Florida, 11:58pm, November 5th, 2075]
Following Hornet's directions, the team pulled into the rear parking lot of the school for talented rich kids about 5 minutes ago to find it was still fairly full. Not only that, but despite it being near midnight on a friday, the lights in the courtyard and the fountain are still on and there's a small amount of activity in the lot and courtyard. "There must be a big rehearsal tonight or something." says Hornet from the backseat, sitting a teeny bit uncomfortably next to the comatose young ork woman. Zippy easily finds a parking space that is both facing the fountain, an acceptable distance from it, and easy to get out of quickly.
From here, several forms can be seen in the courtyard area, maybe 8-12 people in small groups of 2-4 each. Even from a distance, it's obvious that most of these groups are high school age kids, talking animatedly with papers in their hands, scripts perhaps. A couple groups seem older, possibly parents waiting to pick their kids up.
Baba Yaga, through magnified vision, can easily make out the two men who don't belong here. One of them is an ork she doesn't recognize, but he looks Krubb what with his fancy Vashon Island suit and mirrorshades at night. The one you do recognize is wearing dark brown hiking boots, tan track pants, and an expensive longsleeve shirt that looks like the comfiest garment you've ever laid eyes on. A modest but expensive gold chain hangs around his neck. It's definitely Twine, in the flesh. This must be as serious as you've been told if the big man himself is willing to come down into the trenches.
-
Baba whistles low when she recognizes Twine, taking her Ballistic Mask off and stashing it in a jacket pocket. It was obvious she was going to have to enter this meet practically unarmed, especially with all the kids hanging about. Still, she barely ever showered without her Savalette Guardian, she wasn't about to walk into a meet without it on her person. The XM30, the claymore and the roomsweeper could stay in the car, however.
"Alright, showtime. Come on, Hornet. Time for our best behavior." Baba remarks, stepping out of the car and heading towards Twine.
"Twine, always a pleasure." Baba says in greeting, nodding to Twine once she's close enough to speak before looking to the other gentleman. "And Mr. Bellefonte, I would imagine?"
-
After he pulled into the parking spot, Zippy killed Taco's lights. "Here we are. Ill watch Athena while you guys do the talking."
Zippy watched the two get out of the car and head towards the fountain. Can't see too well... Zippy reached for his 950 that had gotten shuffled into the back seat floorboard but thought better of it. No. The Star would be here in 28 seconds. Zippy loudly smacked the side of his helmet with his hand and sighed. The contact wouldn't appreciate it much either. Or the kids. Or the parents.I should probably get some binoculars.
He picked up his comm and began sending a text message.
>Send message
>>Baba, Fancy Man
>>>Baba can you send me a video feed? I'd appreciate an audio channel too, if one of you can make it happen. If not its OK. I'll be alright I guess. Thank you.
-
"Feel free to tag along, Hornet. If things go south I'll just put a bullet in his head."
When Francis sees who has shown up for meeting he curses softly and says under his breath, "I really hope you won’t have to shoot that man right there."
As they approach the table he lets Baba go first with the introduction before giving Twine a respectful nod and adding in Or’zet, "Greetings Twine, I’m Hornet. I hope you don’t mind if we continue this meeting in English. I’m afraid my Or’zet isn’t as good as it should be."
-
As you approach the pair, they look in your direction, and when you get a bit closer, you can tell from the look on Twine's face that he recognizes at least one of you, probably Baba Yaga. His hands are on his hips, but when you get close enough, he reaches his right hand out to shake with the ork woman who's actually a bit taller than he is, despite his considerable size. Hornet feels a little uneasy, surrounded by these three, but the bright lights and constant activity makes him feel quite safe. None of the kids seem to pay too much attention to you four. At a school like this, you figure odd looking things must be going on all the time.
"Twine, always a pleasure." Baba says in greeting, nodding to Twine once she's close enough to speak before looking to the other gentleman. "And Mr. Bellefonte, I would imagine?"
He nods and gives the tiniest of respectful frowns. "And you're Baba Yaga." He speaks quietly, but firmly, with a deep smooth tone that could have made him a successful DJ in another life.
As they approach the table he lets Baba go first with the introduction before giving Twine a respectful nod and adding in Or’zet, "Greetings Twine, I’m Hornet. I hope you don’t mind if we continue this meeting in English. I’m afraid my Or’zet isn’t as good as it should be."
He briefly glances down at the little breeder that the OG inexplicably decided to bring with her, then back to the woman he's here to talk to. His expression of pure business concern does not waver for an instant. He continues speaking to Baba Yaga in Or'zet without addressing Hornet whatsoever. His demeanor is that of a well educated banking customer, here to re-negotiate the terms of his home loan as he speaks. "Let's take a walk around the campus." He turns his body and extends his arm toward a long, well lit walkway leading off toward more of the buildings that make up the school.
Baba Yaga knows with near certainty that this is a safe space; one that the Krubbs have been using as a meet for years now. No one is going to pull anything here. She gives Hornet a reassuring look and walks with Twine, leaving Hornet and fancy suit ork with the gun to trail about twenty feet behind.
As the two large experienced orks stroll through the campus together, they speak to one another, Twine keeping everything to non-specifics. "Here's the deal. I'm in desperate need of some quality rental property right now, and our mutual business acquaintance let me know that he had one of the best real estate agents in the city. I should have assumed he meant you. Now, what I need from you, ma'am, is simple. You give me the address of the rental property and I give you a sizable finders fee. For the moment, I'll assume that arrangement is amenable to you because I'd like to discuss another point, if I may. I don't know if it goes against your business policy, but I'd also like to enter negotiations with any other potential parties interested in the same property. I would of course pay you a brokers fee for setting that up for me."
-
Once all the players are identified, Athena closes the gap to listen to the conversation. She also takes a long hard look at their auras while listening to the conversation.
-
"Here's the deal. I'm in desperate need of some quality rental property right now, and our mutual business acquaintance let me know that he had one of the best real estate agents in the city. I should have assumed he meant you. Now, what I need from you, ma'am, is simple. You give me the address of the rental property and I give you a sizable finders fee. For the moment, I'll assume that arrangement is amenable to you because I'd like to discuss another point, if I may. I don't know if it goes against your business policy, but I'd also like to enter negotiations with any other potential parties interested in the same property. I would of course pay you a brokers fee for setting that up for me."
"I'm afraid the only property I have available right now has seen better days. The location is good, but the building is a money pit. You'd be better off knocking it down and building a new one in its place. The tenants are also problematic, but they will be evicted soon. Some more forcefully than others, if necessary." She pauses for a moment, considering taking out a cigarette, when all she really wants is a hit of jazz.
"I'm afraid I can't disclose any of my other clients. I am a professional, and people pay me for my discretion. I have also already entered into a contract, and I have never been one to voluntarily break a deal after I've agreed to it. I have had good business relations with your people so far, and I reached out to our mutual business acquaintance in an attempt to clarify any conflicts of interest prior to entering into a binding agreement. Unfortunately, he became...indisposed," She gives Twine a look at this comment, "and was unable to get back to me in a timely manner. I took his silence for consent."
"I'm sure if you were more forthcoming with the specifics of your property needs, we could come to a mutually beneficial agreement that does not conflict with the contract I already agreed to. If not, then I'm afraid we'll have to part ways on less than positive terms." Baba finishes, stopping their walk to look Twine in the eye.
-
"I'm afraid the only property I have available right now has seen better days. The location is good, but the building is a money pit. You'd be better off knocking it down and building a new one in its place. The tenants are also problematic, but they will be evicted soon. Some more forcefully than others, if necessary." She pauses for a moment, considering taking out a cigarette, when all she really wants is a hit of jazz.
"I'm afraid I can't disclose any of my other clients. I am a professional, and people pay me for my discretion. I have also already entered into a contract, and I have never been one to voluntarily break a deal after I've agreed to it. I have had good business relations with your people so far, and I reached out to our mutual business acquaintance in an attempt to clarify any conflicts of interest prior to entering into a binding agreement. Unfortunately, he became...indisposed," She gives Twine a look at this comment, "and was unable to get back to me in a timely manner. I took his silence for consent."
"I'm sure if you were more forthcoming with the specifics of your property needs, we could come to a mutually beneficial agreement that does not conflict with the contract I already agreed to. If not, then I'm afraid we'll have to part ways on less than positive terms." Baba finishes, stopping their walk to look Twine in the eye.
@Baba Yaga
Twine is one of the most attractive orks you've ever seen in your life, not in a human way either. Alot of orks who are "hot" these days are just doing their best human impression, but this one... He's all ork. And in his prime, too; about ten years younger than you. His tusks are sharp and pronounced and his skin is damn near green. They don't grow em like him anymore. With most big players like him, the kind of attitude you're throwing around might cost you some points, but he seems positively impressed by the fact that you'd punch him right in the mouth if you felt it necessary. Not only that, but you seem completely unphased by his money and status. He takes a moment to look you up and down with those bright yellow eyes of his before responding, not in a sexual way; more like he's sizing up a boxer to decide how much he wants to bet on a fight.
"Look, I understand we all have business ethics we've got to adhere to. Lets forget all about the other interested parties and just talk about the property itself. I'm not really concerned with what the future holds for this property. If the city has it slated for re-zoning or what have you, that's beyond the scope of the project I'm dealing with. I can accomplish everything I require of the property on a very short schedule. Now, I'm prepared to pay you a five thousand nuyen finders fee right now, just for the address of the property and I completely understand the need to protect your contact list. it is, after all a trust based business. So... ? He raises one eyebrow almost seductively, waiting for a response.
@Hornet
Whoever this ork is you're walking next to, he's ice fucking cold. He doesn't say a word to you for the whole little walk, until the two up ahead stop to talk a bit more. He takes a brief look down at you and lets out half a chuckle. In Or'zet, "Sure you're not here to pick up one of your kids, squish?" he says with the same tone that an execution would be announced.
@Zippy
Two teenage elf girls have come out into the parking lot and out to a small white 3-wheeled car about 20 feet to your left. Both have their hair done quickly in large buns on top of their heads and they're wearing light, multi-layered, somewhat improvised dance clothes with black combat boots untied. After rummaging around in the trunk for a moment, the two of them begin passing something back and forth between them and chatting quietly in English. It only takes about 30-45 seconds before you smell the tell-tale aroma of zen, wafting through the parking lot. It's maybe ten seconds after that when one of them looks over and notices you in the car, watching the fountain. They look a little weirded out, but at least it's obvious you're not a cop, so they continue to smoke the zen, even though the chatting has become far more hushed.
@Athena
After deeply probing the auras of both these men, its quite obvious that the one who's stayed with Hornet is heavily cybered, including a rather high end vehicle control rig and wired reflexes. The other ork has only a datajack, but you suspect he's got some bioware, as his essense is lower than it should be for how little chrome he has.
-
Baba smirks at Twine, looking him up and down a bit like she was sizing him up right back. In her youth she would have been all over a man like Twine, used him up and tossed him out when she was done. She wondered how long he would last if she indulged in some youthful recklessness. Been a long while since she had a young man. Ah, but this was business. Pleasure would come later; there was a house waiting to be burned down, after all.
A strange thought crosses her mind and she smirks wider, shifting her stance a bit.
"I think we can come to an agreement, but first I have a question: do any of your boys have access to some Bunker Gear?" She asks, her smirk turning into a sly smile.
-
Baba smirks at Twine, looking him up and down a bit like she was sizing him up right back. In her youth she would have been all over a man like Twine, used him up and tossed him out when she was done. She wondered how long he would last if she indulged in some youthful recklessness. Been a long while since she had a young man. Ah, but this was business. Pleasure would come later; there was a house waiting to be burned down, after all.
A strange thought crosses her mind and she smirks wider, shifting her stance a bit.
"I think we can come to an agreement, but first I have a question: do any of your boys have access to some Bunker Gear?" She asks, her smirk turning into a sly smile.
For a moment, you can see the wheels turning in his head.
"Charitable people such as yourself make the world go round. If you'd like to donate that entire finder's fee to the Jacksonville Fire Department, I'm sure I can arrange a meeting between you and a representative within the hour."
-
For a moment, you can see the wheels turning in his head.
"Charitable people such as yourself make the world go round. If you'd like to donate that entire finder's fee to the Jacksonville Fire Department, I'm sure I can arrange a meeting between you and a representative within the hour."
Baba laughs.
"Oh, it's not for me. It's for you. See, I'd love to give you the address and let you do your thing, but I've got a tight schedule to keep, and I wouldn't want you to take offense when I start the fire sale while you're still inside."
-
For a moment, you can see the wheels turning in his head.
"Charitable people such as yourself make the world go round. If you'd like to donate that entire finder's fee to the Jacksonville Fire Department, I'm sure I can arrange a meeting between you and a representative within the hour."
Baba laughs.
"Oh, it's not for me. It's for you. See, I'd love to give you the address and let you do your thing, but I've got a tight schedule to keep, and I wouldn't want you to take offense when I start the fire sale while you're still inside."
He actually smiles at you and lets it linger for just a bit before saying almost playfully, but still mostly business, "Oh, come on now. We both know you don't give a fuck if I take offense to anything you do." He takes a moment, brushes some lint off his left sleeve that the wind had brought by and then goes back to the banker stance he'd been using. "Now, as for the sale, all I require is a brief look around before it begins. I'm certain that won't cut into your profits even a small amount. After all, it takes a little bit of time to get everything prepared for a promotion like that. But, just in the interest of setting good precedent for the future, I'm willing to double your finder's fee to help offset any timing issues I may cause."
His mood and countenance take a decidedly sharp left turn, becoming cold and stern, almost vacant in the blink of an eye. For a second, you almost miss the miniscule bit of affection he was giving you and you can only imagine how many young naive girls that cold/hot approach has worked on. His speech is quicker now, has more street to it than it has for the conversation thus far. "Now, I hate to slot and run, but we've both got tight schedules to keep and neither of us can really afford to fuck around here, so are we good? If so, I'll be on my way, and my man Scrap Lover back there will take care of your payment." Jesus, this trog is a master manipulator. No wonder he is where he is today.
-
Baba nods, switching to a professional cadence and wiping the smirk off her face. Twine was a man to be respected, and it was time to bring this meeting to an end.
"Then we're in agreement. I'll finish my preparations and then send you the exact address. I'm sure Camm already told you the street, so you won't have problems arriving in a timely manner." Baba states, before firing up her DNI.
>> Network Call
">Zippy, start the car. We need to get some molotovs and get to the Trap House to finish up our recon. Twine and his boys are going to hit the house first to get what they need, and we're gonna light it up shortly after.<"
-
Whoever this ork is you're walking next to, he's ice fucking cold. He doesn't say a word to you for the whole little walk, until the two up ahead stop to talk a bit more. He takes a brief look down at you and lets out half a chuckle. In Or'zet, "Sure you're not here to pick up one of your kids, squish?" he says with the same tone that an execution would be announced.
Francis gives the intimidating ork the barest glance, "What I am sure of, is that you are nothing but the help. I am not in the habit of wasting words on the help."
As Baba's network call goes through Francis waits for her to turn away from Twine before walking towards the car in a leisurely manner, giving her plenty of time to catch up.
-
"Then we're in agreement. I'll finish my preparations and then send you the exact address. I'm sure Camm already told you the street, so you won't have problems arriving in a timely manner."
"Wiz." You and Twine bump fists and he continues walking in the direction you'd been headed. As you walk back toward the two behind you, scrap nods his head at you and says "This for you, girl." before producing a silver credstick from inside his sleeve like it was a card trick and handing it to you. A quick glance reveals it has a balance of 10,000 nuyen. As you start to walk away, he adds, "Oh yeah. My man says you're down. So, if you should need something, anything at all, jus holla at me, wiz?"
-
"Wiz." You and Twine bump fists and he continues walking in the direction you'd been headed. As you walk back toward the two behind you, scrap nods his head at you and says "This for you, girl." before producing a silver credstick from inside his sleeve like it was a card trick and handing it to you. A quick glance reveals it has a balance of 10,000 nuyen. As you start to walk away, he adds, "Oh yeah. My man says you're down. So, if you should need something, anything at all, jus holla at me, wiz?"
Baba smiles and pockets the credstick with a nod. "I'll keep it in mind." She remarks, moving to follow Hornet back towards the car.
">Let's go, people. We've got a house to burn down.<"
-
Athena keeps her spirit in check and watches people walking away from the meet. She will stay outside her body for a while watching patterns. She won't return until the car is moving and she is certain there is not a tail.
-
Not having heard anything from the two at the meet, Zippy began feeling a little uneasy. They're real far off now...What's going on? He reached down to his leg and clicked the buttons to release the gecko grip on his sawed off, and laid it across his lap. That made him feel a bit better, but he picked up his Comm again and started typing another message.
>Send Message
>> Baba, Fancy Man
>>> Did you guys get m
>Cancel
He thought better of it and put his comm back down. Nah..Baba's fine and the Fancy Man is too if he's with her.
@Zippy
Two teenage elf girls have come out into the parking lot and out to a small white 3-wheeled car about 20 feet to your left. Both have their hair done quickly in large buns on top of their heads and they're wearing light, multi-layered, somewhat improvised dance clothes with black combat boots untied. After rummaging around in the trunk for a moment, the two of them begin passing something back and forth between them and chatting quietly in English. It only takes about 30-45 seconds before you smell the tell-tale aroma of zen, wafting through the parking lot. It's maybe ten seconds after that when one of them looks over and notices you in the car, watching the fountain. They look a little weirded out, but at least it's obvious you're not a cop, so they continue to smoke the zen, even though the chatting has become far more hushed.
The two girls approaching the car did nothing to help ease Zippy's mind. He grabbed the shotgun and gecko gripped it, ready for trouble just in case. He rolled the window down just a bit to hear better in case they say something important, listening closely to every word he could make out. They were probably just zenheads, but he wasn't going to trust anyone but the group until this night was over.
[size=78%]>> Network Call[/size][/color]
">Zippy, start the car. We need to get some molotovs and get to the Trap House to finish up our recon. Twine and his boys are going to hit the house first to get what they need, and we're gonna light it up shortly after.<"
Oh, thank you. Finally some good news. Zippy ungecko'd the shotgun from his hand and reapplied it to his leg before clicking the lights on. Start the car? Hah. Baba is funny, I like her. Taco's always ready to roll when its important. He smiled, happy to finally be back on the road. He rolled the window back up and pulled Taco around so that the two could slide in quicker.
It wasn't long before Baba and Hornet were back in their seats with the doors closed, and Zippy started making his way out of the parking lot as he spoke. "How'd it go?"
-
"We got paid, that's how it went." Baba replies, producing the credstick. "Now lets go, we're wasting moonlight."
-
Athena and her new friend wait until everyone gets into the car and rolls away. She watches for a tail and then heads back to her body. She does a deep inhale when she gets back, getting the feel of her body once again.
She smiles a bit...
I will never get used to that.
She listens for a bit to hear the plan. Her eyes closed she pops an ear bud in.
Quietly, but loud enough to be a shout with anybody using augmentation she voices an opinion that has been bothering her...
I don't want to kill anybody...
She looks around as people take in the statement and quickly clarifies...
I mean...
From what I've heard...
Crap!
Gathering some courage...
From what I've heard, this is a distribution house and possible a lab. And that's fine. There will be people with guns there. There will be people to stop us. I get that. But not whole neighborhoods. Not people in there bed sleeping. No people dying just because they can't afford a better place to live. Not junkies on the floor. Not people hired to cook just because they need the money. None of that. I want no part of it. That could have easily been me or any of us there. I'm done with killing... having a part in killing... people who have done nothing more than try to live.
She catches her slip up and covers it up best she can. She hasn't told anyone about the killing. The men, the children, whole families. She looks up at Zippy. She's sure he knows. Sometimes when she woke up at night, she thought it was fine and no one heard, but then she would see Zippy at the end of the hall looking at her with that sad face. And she would realize that the nightmares were not quiet.
-
From what I've heard, this is a distribution house and possible a lab. And that's fine. There will be people with guns there. There will be people to stop us. I get that. But not whole neighborhoods. Not people in there bed sleeping. No people dying just because they can't afford a better place to live. Not junkies on the floor. Not people hired to cook just because they need the money. None of that. I want no part of it. That could have easily been me or any of us there. I'm done with killing... having a part in killing... people who have done nothing more than try to live.
Baba listened to her daughter talk and a part of her wanted to agree with her, wanted to say that everything would be fine, and that innocents didn't have to die tonight. She wanted to reassure her that they'd be able to sleep easy tonight.
But she didn't say anything like that. Her poor, sweet, innocent, naive, stupid little girl. That was not how the world worked. People were going to die tonight and it was going to be their fault.
"How do you think this works? You think we show up, ask nice, and the junkies will walk out in a single file while we burn their dope house down? You think we're gonna walk through fire and bullets to drag out the bodies of people too far gone on drugs to run out of a burning building? Do you think Twine and his boys are gonna be wearing kid gloves when they go in looking for what they need? By all means, let's try not to burn down the whole neighborhood, but what do you expect will happen when we start this fire? Have you ever known a fire to be non-lethal? Do you really think there is a world where we burn this house down and nobody dies tonight?" Baba stops for a moment to try and gather her thoughts, trying to think of how best to say this.
"I hate to break it to you, baby girl, but we ain't the good guys here. We're being paid to burn a house down while there's still people in it. They ain't good people, but they're still people, and none of them did anything to hurt us. But they're going to be in our way, they ain't going to cooperate, and we will not have the luxury of evacuating them. You're right, that could just as easily be us in there. Hell, I've been there. I've been the dumb bitch living in a dope house just trying to get another hit, but I've never been stupid enough to stick around when the house starts to burn down. In their shoes, I'd run. If they're smart, they'll run too. If they're too high to run, at least they'll die happy." She stops again, her hand shaking now. She almost just pulls out a popper of Jazz, but manages to resist that and just rests her head on her forearm while looking out the window.
"People will die tonight, and it's going to be our fault. Even if we do nothing, and just sit in this car until the timer on this job runs out, Twine and his boys will roll through that house and somebody is going to get shot in the process, and that's on us. I'm okay with that. I can live with that. I've been living with worse for a lot longer." She stops again, hesitating before reaching the conclusion she knew she had to when she started talking. "If you can't handle that, you can sit this one out, and we'll do the rest without you."
-
From what I've heard, this is a distribution house and possible a lab. And that's fine. There will be people with guns there. There will be people to stop us. I get that. But not whole neighborhoods. Not people in there bed sleeping. No people dying just because they can't afford a better place to live. Not junkies on the floor. Not people hired to cook just because they need the money. None of that. I want no part of it. That could have easily been me or any of us there. I'm done with killing... having a part in killing... people who have done nothing more than try to live.
*snip*
Huh, not quite as hard boiled as her mother yet. That’s good to know. Francis pauses for a moment trying to choose his words carefully as to not undermine what Baba just said, "None of us want to burn some poor ass junkies alive while they’re out cold but your mother is right, we aren't fighting the good fight here. What we can do is minimize the damage without putting ourselves at risk. When we get there I would appreciate if you could scout the house magically, find out how many people are there and where they are located. That way we can set off the fire as far off from where people are as possible. Baba said that you knew some fire magic that could start the fire where we want it, right? I’m thinking that if we start the fire in, let’s say, the attic then we could give those people a chance to get out of the building before launching some firebombs in from the back to fan the flames."
-
"I hate to break it to you, baby girl, but we ain't the good guys here. We're being paid to burn a house down while there's still people in it. They ain't good people, but they're still people, and none of them did anything to hurt us. But they're going to be in our way, they ain't going to cooperate, and we will not have the luxury of evacuating them. You're right, that could just as easily be us in there. Hell, I've been there. I've been the dumb bitch living in a dope house just trying to get another hit, but I've never been stupid enough to stick around when the house starts to burn down. In their shoes, I'd run. If they're smart, they'll run too. If they're too high to run, at least they'll die happy."
"People will die tonight, and it's going to be our fault. Even if we do nothing, and just sit in this car until the timer on this job runs out, Twine and his boys will roll through that house and somebody is going to get shot in the process, and that's on us. I'm okay with that. I can live with that. I've been living with worse for a lot longer." She stops again, hesitating before reaching the conclusion she knew she had to when she started talking. "If you can't handle that, you can sit this one out, and we'll do the rest without you."
[/quote]
Nobody said anything about their having to be people inside. I don't want to hurt anybody else. No one innocent. And don't give me that drek about nobody is innocent.[color]
Athena puts on her best hard stare. She knew hard. Not the hard of killing people for money. The hard of killing people for fun.
You're right. I could suit this one out. Or I could put a fire spirit there with a command to guard, and you wouldn't even be able to light a cigarette let alone a fire. And knocking me out won't change his orders. You wouldn't even see him when you get there.
Athena mentally prepares herself to give the command, not needing more than a thought to send the spirit out.
I'm not asking you to not hurt anybody. Just apply some precision.
-
Zippy nervously listened to the exchange between the others. He didn't like the interpersonal conflict, but he also wanted to try to avoid unnecessary casualties. "Um..Hey, Baba... I agree with Athena. We should try to limit the casualties if we can safely do so. Would it be ok if I went in early and get a hit? I might be able to stick around then, but I wouldn't take the whole hit. That way I'd be aware when the burning starts. If there's anyone out of their mind I could try to get them out before its too late. Yeah. That might work..."
He hesitated a moment and flipped his visor up as he continued. "If I return to my usual crazy self and leave the helmet behind, I imagine I would fit right in with the trap crowd. I doubt I would need to convince anyone I belong there. I don't like it, but I think it would be for the best." Zippy nodded and took his helmet off. "It might be better if Hornet was with me, but...Er, I mean, I don't want to bother you or anything, Hornet...I'll be fine on my own. Yeah..."
-
Francis considers Zippy's words for a moment before replying, "As much as I would like to back you up there Zippy I don't think Athena should be alone in the car if she will be going into the astral and Baba will need to be free to act if something actually starts to go down. Other than that I don't think it is a bad idea to have someone on the inside, whether that is you or me is up for discussion. Baba, was the intention to set the fire before you give Twine the heads up? Otherwise we could let them clear out the house and torch it when they finish their business. Just an idea."
-
The second a spirit was mentioned Baba saw red, rage filling her entire body as every reflex in her body told her to draw her gun right now and put a bullet between Athena's eyes before she could make good on that threat. She was pretty sure she was bluffing about the spirit sticking around after the summoner was down for the count; she had killed enough conjurers in her day to know it didn't work that way.
But she resisted the urge to shoot her daughter where she sat. The rage slowly became replaced by terror, as she realized that athena was walking the same path that killed her father. A thousand words came to her at once and got stuck in the back of her throat, unable to find her voice. Instead, she simply got out of the car and started walking, bag of alcohol and rags still in hand.
-
Athena watches her mom walk away, confused...
What is this about?
She knew the people she is with shouldn't have a problem clearing out derelicts. Had she gone too far threatening with the spirit? Too late now. She thought about going after Baba but thought better of it.
Maybe I should just sit this one out.
She puts her headphones back on and stares at the window, wishing it didn't show a reflection.
-
Well fuck, I can’t believe this simple ass job is getting so fubar. Francis notes the set of Baba’s shoulders as she walks away and decides that bugging her about what is up her ass would be a monumentally bad idea right now. Need to keep this ship moving Francis, can’t let this go to shit.
"OK, Baba is getting into position. Athena, will you be going astral for this? Do you need someone to stay with you in the car?"
-
I'll be fine. I think Taco will bale if things get rough.
Calling up her spirit, she tentatively slips into the Astral Plane and takes a moment to get her bearings and looka round.
-
Instead, she simply got out of the car and started walking, bag of alcohol and rags still in hand.
Zippy looked quickly around at everyone before looking towards the floorboard and flipping his visor back down. "I..uh, I'll help Baba I guess...She shouldn't go alone. I mean, I know she doesn't need the help, but I'd feel better if someone was there..." He popped Taco's trunk and killed the lights. "You two can stay with Taco if you like. Stick with Athena. If shes out of it you can probably talk yourselves out of any trouble that might show up. If not, you can stall long enough to get us the word." Zippy paused a second and glanced nervously between Taco, Athena and Francis, and the run-down buildings around them. "Let me know if you two don't stay with Taco. He doesn't like being left alone...he gets nervous."
Shotgun or Rifle? I hate this...Rifle. I might have to cover for Athena or Baba. Zippy grabbed the 950 from where it was resting between the console and passenger seat, got out of the car and slung it to his back. He rummaged about in his pack and pocketed 10 spare rounds for the 950 and 5 flechette shells for the T-250. Baba didn't take any gas...do we need it? Is the alcohol enough? I've never burned a house down...I'll leave it. No. It can't hurt to grab the gas. Still unsure of whether he was making the right decision, Zippy grabbed two Jerry cans of gas before shutting the trunk and chasing after Baba.
-
Now that Baba and Zippy have walked away, Athena makes her way to the building, spirit in tow. She will start at the highest point and make her way down.
-
Francis sighs as Zippy chases after Baba, Christ this is turning to shit, I’m actually staying in the fucking car so that it won’t feel nervous. That is an actual thing happening in my life now… fuck me.
Keeping an alert watch on the cars surroundings Francis uses the time to check on his pistols making sure they are both locked and loaded.