[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya welcomes the others as they convene at the gate then asks Kumiho to lead the way to the pole he needs to climb.  Once there she places the bag on the ground, kneeling beside it to pull some equipment out.  She looks up at the pole then to Kumiho.  "No trouble, Kumiho.  Just trust in your equipment and my skill to get you up there.  I will go up first and put a piton and hook at the top so I can run a rope through it to help you up.   Then you do your thing.  Easy."

Tanya hooks up a climbing harness on herself then Kumiho, making sure that they are on secure.  Taking a small sack from the bag, she places a small hammer inside it, along with some pitons, D-rings and a pair of regular climbing gloves.  She attaches the sack to her harness and then the end of a long section of climbing rope.  Finally, Tanya removes some odd looking gloves, pads and boots  from the bag.  She looks up at the others as she puts them on.  "OK.  These are gecko gloves, pads, and boots and will assist me in the climb.  I will go up and place the D-ring at the top and loop the rope through before coming back down.  Then give you the gecko gear and fasten a belaying rope to your harness in case you slip.  I will catch you if that happens.  No worries."

Standing, Tanya winks at the others and begins climbing the pole.  She manages to make good time to the top, where she slips the hammer's wrist strap onto her arm and pounds a piton into the top of the pole before fastening a D-ring to it.  She then pulls the rope from her harness and loops it through the ring and switches out the gecko gloves for her other pair from the sack.  She looks below at the others, making sure that no one is in the way, commands the rest of the gecko gear to turn off, and simply pushes away from the pole.

Once she is back on the ground, Tanya removes the rest of her gecko gear and hands it all to Kumiho to put on as she finishes with his harness.  She loops the rope through the ring on his harness and waits for him to get all the gear on before sending the signal to turn it on.  "OK.  You are set.  Let me put your deck in this sack so that your hands are free.  You will have to climb, but the gear will assist you and this rope will stop you from falling.  I will be watching closely, but feel free to shout out if you feel yourself going.  Take your time and be careful and you will get to the top OK.  Then it is up to you to work your magic.  Ready?  Go to it."

[skulldixon]

ok, ready. I guess.

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya helps Kumiho get a start on the pole by showing him how to use the gecko gear.  Once he is making progress, she assumes the belay position, keeping the slack from the rope and ready to catch him if he falls.  She keeps up a conversational patter to get him comfortable.

[Stoneglobe]

Now that everyone is converging back at the gates I drop the conference channel on my commlink before activating the search function and typing in Tanya Marisart. Whilst waiting for the results to return I keep half an eye on what is happening at the pole joining in with the conversational patter.

[skulldixon]

Kumiho tries his best to follow Tanya's direction and slowly he makes his way  to where the camera is. When he was almost there he Almost feel -  and would have if not for the line. Taking a moment to recollect he finishes the last few feet. I guess this is what I get when I keep putting off going to the gym, he thinks to himself. Once he is at the where he can access the Camera he says, Ok, this is good. Just hold me here while I patch myself in. Thank you.

He pulls out his datatap and carefully connects it to the wires in the back of the camera. Once this is connected he connects the other end to the port on his Deck. He double checks everything then flicks on the switch on his deck and switches himself into Cold Sim. The world around him vanishes to replaced with a virtual duplicate of it; his meat body going slack on the line. His Fox Scholar ICON seems to hover before the Camera ICON. With the large Ink brush that he carries, Kumiho paints a little hatch on the Camera ICON then, placing his other hand on the little door, he says "열린".

[Mercy Merchant]

Even though she seems cavalier about Kumiho's climbing, Tanya is very serious about her belaying and focuses on her immediate responsibility.  She wants to be sure that the man is never in any danger.  He makes a slip a few feet below the top, but Tanya reacts to abort the fall and he resumes his progress.  She congratulates him when he reaches the top, but does not let off on the tautness of the rope in case he loses his balance up there and patiently waits for him to let her know he is done and ready to come back down.

[Stoneglobe]

seeing that Tanya seems to have the climbing situation well in hand I scroll through the first few search results.

A thief who runs the Seattle shadows is a fragging Brit noble? There's got to be quite a story there. If we ever do have that dinner the conversation could be even more interesting than I thought, though I'm not sure my bank manager, yeah right, I smile inwardly at that thought will be too impressed when it comes time for me to pay the bill or buy the clothes suitable for an evening dining with someone who's close to being sodding royalty. Best not screw this case up Johnny Boy as there could be more than the rent due to come out of the bank this month, and you won't even make that without this payola.

With that I dump the results from the memory before anyone can see what it was that I was reading.

[Señor T]

Cal returns to the main entrance in time to see Kumiho and Tanya finishing up their climb. "Didn't find anything," he announces to those nearby as he enters the open space inside the entrance. "Hopefully they're having better luck up there." He looks around the area briefly before finding a spot by a wall with reasonable visibility where he stands and eyes the surroundings casually.

[Jayde Moon]

When Kumiho's body goes limp, Tanya is dragged forward half a foot before she sets herself.  She didn't expect him to actually go VR while atop a light pole, but sometimes the smartest guys seem to lack a little in the common sense arena.  Any annoyance she might have initially felt is quickly washed away by the comical appearance of a comatose Korean man dangling from the top of a light pole, gently swaying back and forth.

Meanwhile, Kumiho is quickly able to sleaze a mark onto the camera.  The device's sculpting is about what one would expect from a camera and Kumiho quickly moves to find what it is he is looking for.

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya is momentarily surprised and looks a tad embarrassed as she mutters to herself, but certainly loud enough for others to hear if they are standing near "Bloody Hell, Kumiho.  Give a lass a warning 'fore you do that next time."  She shakes her head and adds, "Tcha, girl, your own bloody fault for not anticipating that one."

[Mercy Merchant]

Tanya looks around to see who is watching then turns her attention back to the man on the pole.  "So, does anyone have an issue with meeting at my flat to discuss what we have found or not found and plan our next moves?  I have a largish place that includes a room I use for planning and can have snacks available.  I am not trying to force this and can go to another place if anyone knows of an alternative."

[Stoneglobe]

Giving Tanya a nod as she scans the group, "Works for me. Anyone else got any objections or alternatives they want to suggest?"

Besides which, it would be nice to see how the have's rather than have not's live up close and personal.

[Jayde Moon]

Inside the Host, Kumiho is able to find the video file.  He looks up the time frame and is pleased to find the entirety of the time is present.  Whoever blindfolded the cameras in the temple did not think to do so on the street.  Unfortunately, Kumiho doesn't see anything that indicates that the perps got caught ton this or any camera.

What IS present, is the vehicle.  It arrives shortly after sun down.  An hour later, one man exits the passenger side and walks west.  He is gone about half an our when he returns, with two paper bags and gets back into the car.  It sits for several more hours and then, at about 15 minutes after 1, there is a flicker on the feed and then the doors open.  Two men step out, looking in the direction of the temple.  They watch for only a few moments, before they get back into the car and quickly drive away.

As they do so, the license plate is easily read.

[Stoneglobe]

As I watch Kumiho swinging limply at the top of the camera pole like a wet flag in a light breeze all I can think is only sort of mental or physical switch off I want to indulge in is the liquid variety that comes in bottles. Never could understand the appeal of plugging anything into the body or, especially, the brain. Yes, please, drill a hole in my skull and stick a metal socket in it. Luckily I'm wearing my greatcoat , making it more difficult though not impossible for anyone watching to see, as I can't quite suppress the shudder my thought brings Metal hole in my skull mixed with a sadistic torturer with access to mains electricity and live wires. Oh just peachy. Sometimes I really hate my brain and the random thoughts it pulls from nowhere during moments of stillness.

[skulldixon]

Kumiho saves what he find on his Virtual Machine and logoff the host, waking back into the world. He takes a sudden in drawn breath, remembering where he is. Being careful not to move too much, Kumiho removes the connect to the camera, packing it and the deck away. Then gestures that he is ready to be lowered back tot he earth.

Once firmly back on the ground he states, Thank you, Tanya. I think we found our first clue.