[SmilinIrish]

Jed shook out the clothes brought by the young man.  He had stuck to Russian as much as possible once they arrived, using his newfound knowledge of Polish when able.  After taking off his armored jacket, and putting on the ballistic vest, he felt almost naked.  You don't roll in the Barrens without a full jacket.  It just isn't safe.  Jed finished dressing in the older clothes, putting on the sturdy pair of leather shoes, and exchanging his summer fedora for the grey wool flat cap.  Wow, actual wool, not soy fibers.  He'd be taking this home with him.  Jed quickly pocketed the laser microphone, bug scanner and plastic restraints.  Turning on the two burner phones to make sure they worked.   He spent a moment wishing Firefly had joined them.  Matrix support would have been nice, making sure the phones weren't rigged. 

Jed quickly attempted to summon his daily spirit of man.  His first couple of attempts ended in failure.  Shit. Was the mana flowing differently here?  It didn't seem like it.   Finally, he narrowly succeeded in summoning and negotiating with a spirit.  It was essentially only going to be able to cast the necessary spell.  After the next task it would be released.  As his first task, Jed directed it to cast  a spell to expand his awareness and instincts and sustain it until sundown.  He then cast a low powered version of a spell to compensate for his aging reflexes, sustaining it with the focus that he and Marco created.  He felt a tinge of sadness at the thought of Marco's sudden down spiral and abrupt end.Can't think about that right now

Jed stretched himself out on the bed, and prepared to scout their digs.  First he would project himself astrally to check for anything unusual on the astral, then cast his Clairvoyance spell so that he could scout the place physically without Nicolai observing.  Just as he laid down, he heard a tap at the door.  "Hoi, omae, you in there?  Got shome toys you might wanna take a peek at...". 

Come in Ms. Arc, I was just laying down.  Please invite Yelena in.  We should talk about a couple of things first.

Jed propped himself up on pillows.  They needed to discuss the plan.

[gilga]

Marco smiles extends his hand and say "It is harder to quit these poison sticks... our mutual friend had done the former three times and yet failed to do the latter. " Marco is still amazed how unnaturally stealthy that man is, one thing he got to hand him, with this kind of stealth Nikolai is probably very good at his profession.

[Qwikfix]

Arc didn't open the door right away, but gave a nod to the response.  "Aight, give me a shec..."  the short human turned around, stepping back to Yelena's door and peeking her head in.  "Srui, Jed wanna chat for a bit bout our shitch.   Hish room when you ready."  nodding in affirmation she returned to the older man's room, letting herself in before eloping on a chair.

"Nice threadsh.  Like outta the old tridsh, hehe"  grinning, Arc leaned forward, snacking as she got comfy.  "I know you was working with Firefly on some surveillance drek.  Think I can help with that..."  holding out her cyberarm, she opened up some of the paneling, releasing a couple of her Fly-Spys into the air.  "Wash workin on flight patterns, and the cameras work well.  I can give you the feed and camera control null shweat...think itll help give ya eyes on the op?"  she smiled confidently, inwardly hoping it would.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena nods and gets off the bed.  She walks to Jed's room and enters, standing against the wall near the door and watching.

[ismilealot]

Nicolai uses a DNA scanner to verify Marco's identity. And then leads him into the barn and down into a trapdoor, past the surveillance and to a room with Arc standing outside of it. He hears her say, "Srui, Jed wanna chat for a bit bout our shitch.   Hish room when you ready."

[gilga]

Uncertain how to approach Arc Marco stares a bit. He is uncertain just how to approach Arc. Yet, in he way he sees her now for the first time - her music... the poor girl have distorted it. Yet, Arc sounds like some tribal drums constantly beating. She is like a call for people to assemble to come and seat by the fire. She seem to be longing to belong, to be part of...  So close and yet so far - how can you tell someone this kind of message? Jed will identify him in a heart bit, Marco is not yet experienced enough to mask the hints he gives people in the world of emotions. 

He finally say "Hello Arc, how was your flight?" In a friendly manner, yet somewhat distant. Marco does not feel very friendly recently, if any he feels completely alone, alienated from life itself. He is truly long way from home - and where is home? Seattle was home - but it now feels like nothing more than an illusion. A mirage that was difficult to let go - at the end of the day people die alone.  No matter how friendly and how charismatic they are, when death comes it is every man for himself.

Marco was alone - even Agrat did not seem to talk to him anymore. His methods were too cold and too extreme for her. She left him, perhaps for good. The one constant voice in his mind has grown silent.  There were so many new voices in his head and yet none of them was as wonderful as hers.

Marco watched Arc, trying to mask her surprise and struggle to place him. Figuring out that there was no 'good' way to drop that bomb he simply says.  "I was once Marco, but I call myself Blackbird now.". Saying his own name is painful - and Marco nee to force himself to say it.

[Qwikfix]

As Arc was going over the specs of her bugs, how they would be providing basic overwatch for their little team, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, her street instincts warning her of a presence approaching.  She trailed off about the basic range she'd be able to pull with her drones when she heard a gentle, masculine voice coming from the doorway.

"Hello Arc, how was your flight?"

Her cyberhand snapped to her lower back where her pistol lay, weight shifting on her hip as she turned side-view to the man, green cybereyes narrowed in scrutiny of the subject.  He knows my name...where do I know this fragger..why is he here...what...  She flitted a momentary glance to Yelena in the corner, out of view, indicating to wait in case this was bad news.  Straightening up, she huffed and pulled some red locks from her face.

"Flight wash good, tch.  What'sh it to yeh..."  Her eyes looked him up and down....nope, complete stranger...she was focusing so hard that she barely registered his next words...

"I was once Marco, but I call myself Blackbird now."

She froze, eyes going wide at the realization.  Of course...fragging mojo covering his hoop up.  What...  Her shock was apparent as her mouth formed the words of his name, silenty uttering them as she felt her body tense.  The past two weeks flashed before her eyes...the struggle that Yelena and he were having..then his suicide, the anguish, the grief, the pain...all that had been wrought on her blood sister, and herself as a proxy...for that incident hurt those she cared for, and her in the process.

...so the next move she made was one of all those feelings she had worked through, buried for the sake of supporting Yelena, coming out at once.  Her mind had put it all together in seconds, how it was even possible that he got here.  And when the short mechanic darted forward, tears were welling in her eyes as her right fist came up to his cheek in an alarmingly swift right cross.  "An act?  You fraggin' put ush through all that ash an ACT?!?!"  What the frag were you thinking, if at all?!"

As quick as the action came, she did not persist, her eyes full of emotion and passion as she waited for the reaction....

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena is leaning against the wall and out of direct sight of anyone standing just outside the room.  To her it is not unusual that others here would know Arc's name, but the tone of voice is not what she would expect.  And there is no hint of Russian, or any other eastern European tongue, in the words.  Her surprise at the interruption is compounded by the next words the stranger speaks.  Calling himself Marco is a brilliant stroke.  It leads to a momentary confusion that could allow an assassin to get closer to his target, a technique similar to ones she has used in the past.  But as quick as her hand is in drawing and spinning up her large sidearm, Arc is quicker.  The short human is on the stranger before Yelena has the pistol completely free of its holster, the resulting punch loud enough to be heard several feet away.

Yelena steps around the open door with her pistol held ready but pointed at the floor.  She reaches out a hand to restrain Arc.  "Calm, Srui.  Marco dead.  Not trust friends.  Not trust lover.  Marco gone."  She calls over her shoulder to Jed.  "Jedediah.  Can PI man tell who this is?  See through mojo?"  Yelena senses that the stranger might be considering saying something so she holds up her hand.  "Stranger tell Yelena and friends why here.  Not want hear other things."

[gilga]

Marco embraces the pain, in a way it comforts him. He feels alive. There is nothing he could possibly say to her, no justification. He did what he needed to do, and it was painful, like ripping a bandage. He took the hard decision and paid for it in Blood. He wipes down the blood from his upper lip and nose and smiles.

His heart races when Yelena enters the room, gun or not - at least  she is still breathing.


"Marco had a problematic past and powerful masters and he could not leave Seattle. It was not an act, it was real, he really did commit suicide and in a way he really is dead. It was real to him and it was real to you, it was the only way.  You guys are not very good in lying, you do not control your emotions, your body language and your thoughts. Even if you did, Marco did not even trust himself to be able to keep his own secret. Facing an adversary that can read minds, the only way to lie is with truths. "

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena shakes her head as she forces her hand to return the weapon to its holster.  She is a bit concerned that she might really want to use it on the man in front of her.  "No.  Was only way in Marco mind and Marco so smart he did not think others might have another way.  Was selfish way.  Suicide caused bad things.  Hurt friends.  Hurt woman who loved him.  Showed lack of trust and faith.  Is true Yelena not lie well.  Yelena not need lie.  He made decision by self for self.  No thoughts for others.  No thoughts for Yelena, Arc, Jedediah, Firefly, Tuskaloosa.  No thoughts for other boys.  Just selfish.  Yelena loved Marco.  Would have dared anything.  Dared anyone.  Marco kill love."

[gilga]

Marco listens, he is quiet and patient. When Yelena is done giving him justification to his choice to keep her in the dark about his plan. He say softly, with a balanced voice - not to happy and not to sad. There is no anger, in that voice just a hint of compassion.

"Indeed, that stunt was done for me and indeed it was selfish, survival always is selifh. How do you think Firefly felt once she reached seattle? She was alone and had all her family and friends ripped away from her like a bandage. This is where I am now, I do not know why you mention Tuska and Firefly with the same sentence as you and Arc. I only met these two a couple of times and there was not much love there.

I had many people I cared about in my life, friends, a community, contacts and even clients. I had hopes, dreams and ambitions, I had a life and I ripped it all apart like a bandage. You lost one person, a lover, but I lost everything there was, everything that Marco was. Indeed, I did so to earn my freedom and I did so only for myself. I deserve to be free and I paid for it with my own blood, and the with the blood of the people we dropped into the river. As a mean to an end, because extracting a sociopath genius mage was more important than their life.

It is your choice who you love, all I have to say is that I am here. I am here since your justice was Marco's last will - the last will of a dead man. A man that wanted you safe despite reason, despite the horrible body count you leave behind you.  A man that loved you, and a man that still does. A strong man that would do anything to be live free.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena carefully examines her feelings and realizes that she and the man in front of her are so very different from each other.  Love had been the glue that had bound two such disparate people together and now that love is gone.  She realizes that she will probably never be able to see his justification and that he will never accept her arguments and that there is really no point to continuing to argue about them.  She moves aside and motions for him to enter the room.

[gilga]

Marco enters the room and takes a seat, he still tries to make sense of his own body. It is still handsome, but it is simply not himself. He remains quiet, and nods at Jed as he enters.

[ismilealot]

Nicolai frowns as he enters the room and then looks back and forth between Yelena and Marco and then says, "Is Marco, DNA confirmation, or I take him and he would be screaming all truths, all secrets, all lies he knows and beg me for death. He would not step foot as free man here. But, if you do not want him here he will not be here. This is our justice for our blood, no one else's."

[SmilinIrish]

As Jed began to prepare for laying out his thoughts to the girls, the unimaginable events play out before him.  Even before Arc asks for him to verify the man's identity, Jed has his astral eyes on target. 

He appears to be Marco, but that can be faked too.  Yelena, do you still have the comb he gave you?  It's a magical focus for him.  If he can activate the comb, it's Marco.  If he can't, kill him

As Jed continues to examine Marco's aura, he sees that it is indeed Marco, but there are changes.  Recognizing an aura is like looking at an intricate fingerprint.  The color, shading and intensity of the aura can change, but the swirls and whorls remain.  This is Marco, but as he says, in a way, its not.