A Time for Secrets

It early morning but Sieg had already been up for 4 hours. On the top of a 12 floor building that hed been sitting on for almost an hour he look down at Neo-Tokyo at dawn. All the city light sight board and packed cars for early workers were looking beatiful from up here.He could also see all the "adds" in the matrix with his image link...there was one of a suchi bar with some cartoony looking japanese chef slicing up a squid and another about the Space Invader XXIV that had been released.

He took a bite out of his soybar.Would be awesome to eat some real food for a change..or at least manage to buy some decent flavoringhe thought to himself while gulping the tasteless soy..money had ran a bit low lately..sure he had paid his rent on his appartment for the next 4 months but he nearly never hanged there..too cramped and on "ground" level for his own taste but it was all he could afford. Not alot of Tanaka-San or even Yakuza wanted to take a chance on a runner with barely a year of experience..Fairy told him as soon as shed find some work for him she give him a call but its been nearly a month since he had done anything in the "shadows". Last conversation with her didint end so well..shed been pestering him to go live at her place...Sieg suspected it wasent just as a "friendly" intent, it was pretty obvious that Kasumi had a crush on him, however on his side he wasent sure what he was feeling about her..it didint felt like love..but then again what does the heart knows?

He started to make his way down when at 10 m from the street his comlink beeped. He then jumped all the 10 meter down and accepted the call.

Hello?

Almost ten days since the last call from Pretschlov. How should he get back his loved car, when Pretschlov don't give him work to do. So far Greifer thinks it was one of the stupidest ideas from this want-to-be Johnson to send him here. Maybe he will check out this guy again, for whom he made his last job. Also Greifer was told, that there will be no more jobs in the feature from this guy. But better ask one more than necessary, than not often enough.
First of all, he has to go out of this room, even better change the motel. Greifer didn't expect much for that low price, but at least reasonably clean water once a week shouldn't be too much to ask.

After he stands up and got dressed, he went to the little vending machine at the motel entrance to buy some cheap soy-stuff. On his way back, he take a little look at his car in the inner courtyard. Still standing nothing stollen, so far the day was alright. God knows what Pretschlov will do, if Greifer don't return the car.

Back in his appartment, he warm up some soycaf and start to look for jobs in the local news feed. Even taxi driver was better than nothing. When he startes to dial the number of a mexican foot delivery service, his com beeped. Hopfully it's this flat head Pretsch he thought and stops dialing the other number.

Muschi muschi.

Home, that's a word Viking would never use for this place, or maybe he would, but before that could happen a lot had to change, the newly installed Sec system was a good start and would keep most of the neighbours out, as well as the occasional thief and the second hand furniture he had got from a fixer down the street where in a passable quality even thou thy looked like they had seen a few troll a**es to many.

Next thing on the list would be to improve the look on this place, some well placed runes would do wonders. magical lodge would be great, but this place would need some real improvements to accommodate it, at least some spirits watching over the Sec.

So Viking gets in his meditation pose to summon a Guardian Spirit but his Concentration is interrupted by a call.

So the you say i should not summon your power yet?
it shall happen as you wish God of thunder.

OOC: Sorry Kess/Ghost; you didn't respond in time. Ashe/Eleanor will proceed in your absense.

"You may call me Eleanor." The melodious multi-tonal voice says on the other end of the Commlink. It was quite pleasant to listen to, filling your ear with the sweet soft sound of a likely deeply feminine voice.
"And your presence is requested for a job. If you are liked, and you like the job, it could be a very long-term contract. Please arrive wearing street clothes with no obvious armament. You will be paid 1000 Nuyen just for showing up and considering the job."[/b] The voice continues through the initial description, describing the location of the meet, and what would be expected of the group. It was very strange, but the initial meet was set to be at public tables in the gallery of a Mall, not far from where you were at the moment.
"You may be asking yourself: 'Who holds a Job Meeting in the gallery of a Mall?'" The voice continues, the emotions of a smile coming through the line a bit. [color=cyan"Well, in response to that, I would ask that you come prepared for socially appropriate behavior, and maintain publicly appropriate decorum. The hostess of the meeting will be providing a white noise generator, so that listening in would require physical participation in the meeting. I have provided a picture of the hostess, such that you may recognize her when you arrive."[/color] The voice concluded.
"May I indicate your acceptance for the meet?" Eleanor asked, finally.
As soon as you disconnect, your Commlink beeps with a file download request. Accepting, you receive a picture of a very attractive Elven woman. She is attractive enough that you can be somewhat certain that you would recognize her in nearly any crowd.

"Ok, thank you Eleanor. Umm, guys, change of plans. Would you two please accompany me on another interview down in the Mall Gallery? It will be held in about an hour, so there isn't likely time for you to go check out the convenience store. I'll finish up my fitting here, and we can head down to get another coffee and wait until the interview begins. Oh, umm, Eleanor, would you please provide us with 1-page bios with pictures for the guys?" Ashe concludes.
"Of course, Ashe. I have just sent over your information. It will come in shortly." She responds. Almost in response to her statement, Ashe hears Kesslan and LT's commlinks beep. Ashe smiles, pulling her commlink out to start reviewing the information. OOC: We get the Intros which were posted. Go ahead and review.

1000 Bugs just for meeting this guys? That was something new. Greifer leans back and think about the offer. A trap from Saab? No, if the would knew this phone they also could come through the door at this moment. Long way to go for them. And also, if they have enough money just for my showing up, there could be much more! Better then a foot driver also. Greifer trys to remember, if he know something about the Mall, but just came up with a electronic shop, that should be there somewhere.

Okay Ellenor, sounds fine. Count on me. Nevertheless I have one question, do you come from a guy called Pretschlov?

Since Greifer hates waiting, he checkes the time and decides to look for a cheap, simple t-shirt in a shop next street. Something with those japanes-looking symbols or so. Since its just a few minutes walk he leave his car at the motel and also Eleanor and her description of the meeting didn't sound like there will be anything als than talking.

Greifer starts some of his musik on his com while he walk to the Mall. Humming the refrain of some good old rock song, he inspects the photo of this Elven lady. Holy cannon tube, sexy lady. I sure won't miss this girl.

Kesslan was about to respond when Ashe spoke up again and he simply went with it. Not that he had any particular objections. For all his speed and agility, this metahuman world moved too fast for him sometimes and there was just so much about them that the shifter didn't understand. "Sure, what ever you need." he responded amicably enough. One might argue that since he was technically the 'leader' he should take charge, but sometimes the good point of a leader was to know when some one else should be calling the shots instead, and he knew quite well that Ashe just.. had this way with people. The whole stunt at the military base had proved it. Kesslan knew killing, fighting, tactical planning. He didn't really know the whole social scene, at least not where Metas were concerned. "I'll go get the bike armour while you guys grab coffee? Wont take long I suspect."

Ill be there ASAP Sieg didint recognize who that was on the phone..she said her name was Ellenore.As he walked to the mall wich was a few block away from him he inspected himself a bit.

Street clothes check..hope they dont mind em not being in "perfect" condition...conspicuous pistol check...going to a meeting not really knowing your mark unarmed is kind of a bad career move in the shadows.

He took a look at the picture and gave out a whistle.

1 grand for a meeting with that gal..not a bad way to start the day

As he walk down the mall he grabs a drink then starts looking for the elven woman near the place Ellenor told him to meet her.

"I will be there."

Viking disconnects the Call, he had not expected somthing like this just to pop up from nowhere.

This is a good start, but long term, staying at one place too long is dangerous so I will just get enough for my debt to be repaid and then we will see. But maybe i should call up my Debitor if he had some play in this.

@Nightwalker " Hi Night, have you given anyone my come number recently? i just got a call from A Mis Eleanor, you know somthing about that?"

While he was talking on the com with NightWalker he recieved a Memo on Ashe including a picture.

That's easy going to send your data to complete strangers, but they might be just that confident,

"they sent me some additional info on the meet, i will forward to it and be grateful if you had someone do a quick data search about this person and there will be a bonus for speed."

Hmm one of my kind, that's a surprise, does not look Japanese thou, that could get interesting, and this Voice from the comm, wonder who that was.

Viking gets back in the pose he had while summoning the spirit, he really did not had the time to summon a new one, but he might still speak to his Gods this way

"So You heard my prayers? For that i will wear your rune today o god of thunder."

Viking said it to the ceiling looking at some of the runes he had already painted, on of them was the rune for Thunder.
He would be Representing the God himself, he was sure of that, he had received a sign while summoning a mere slave of the gods he had got a mission instead.
Viking got up and started to prepare for the meet, they said street clothes, so will have them over his chameleon suit, the taser is a legal armament and should not be considered out of a place in any case so Viking does not really need to change much, not at least for now. he leaves his new home as soon as possible then he would like to check out the location of the meet beforehand, still he is not sure if he will have enough time for that, but he should have at least 10-15 min in the mall before the meeting.

"Umm, no, Mr. Greifer. I do not know anyone of that name. I could attempt to locate them for you, if that would be preferable?"[/b] Eleanor responds to Greifer, the confusion in her voice was clear and sounded genuine enough.

"Ok, cool. Also, if you want, I think we can order up one of those auto-sew machines, and you could get Eleanor to stitch some kickin' designs in to it!" Ashe grinned, mostly at hearing the bits of "street slang" coming out of her mouth, though the idea of Kesslan flying down the switchbacks of a mountain road on a Japanese hillside wearing "living" flames on his suit was also something interesting in her mind's eye. Ashe dispelled the image, moving back to the current conversation.
"Ok then, I will see you two down there!" She turned back to the elderly lady who had appeared shortly before and bowed to her, making some hand motions, and receiving some in return.
"Oh, uh, if you want me to grab you a coffee, or something, just message me with what you want? I'll have it waiting for you. And, while we're at it; same configuration as last time? You and me at the table, LT nearby?" She turned back to Kesslan for a few moments. The look on the elderly lady's face was a priceless match of consternation and incredulous annoyance. Ashe quickly turned back to the lady and bowed, before looking to Kesslan and LT again.

@Viking "Hey Horned-Cap, hows the pillaging coming these days? Don't answer that..." Nightwalker laughed at his own joke. "Yeah, I put your number out to this one outfit in New Seattle, run by some random dude by the name of Watashi. Said he was lookin' fer somethin' to do with a Neo Tokyo somethin-er-other. I did a prelim'-search on him and he looked clean. Fig'r'd it'd be fine." He said in response.
"Uh, sure, send whatev'r you got on over, I'll dig int'it. Can't promise you anything, yaddy-yaddy-ya, you heard it all before. I'll get back to ya in, uh, say, 2 hours? That should give me 'nuff time to get a feel for what you've sent my way." Nightwalker said, apparently accepting the commission.

Gala wrote:

Uh, sure, send whatev'r you got on over, I'll dig int'it. Can't promise you anything, yaddy-yaddy-ya, you heard it all before. I'll get back to ya in, uh, say, 2 hours? That should give me 'nuff time to get a feel for what you've sent my way."[/b][/color] Nightwalker said, apparently accepting the commission.

@NightWalker "Make it 4 times shorter and I will make it up to ya in work or Nuyen, the meet in less then 1 hour so if you can't make it until then it's cool and we leave it be, but still would appreciate the heads up."

Worst case scenario will have to get on it myself, mind probe the Driver or something like that, going in blank is just my style

He returned to his Magicaly enchanted Paint, it was nothing that would give him some advantage in combat more of a style thing, In astral view it would glitter in all different colours and would be perfectly readable as long as Viking wishes it to be, that was the advantage of this recepie, it could be controlled by his mind, a neat little trick he had learned from a sage in France, the poor fool was so proud of his work, but a few Bottles of beer later he had practically explained it to Viking in the most precise manner possible, for a drunk, that is.

Quote :

Eleanor: "Umm, no, Mr. Greifer. I do not know anyone of that name. I could attempt to
locate them for you, if that would be preferable?"

Oh no no, don't bother with him. Was just some thought of mine, nothing important. I will be at the mall, then.

Sajonara.


After Greifer has bought some new clothes, he went a bit around the place until it's time for the meeting. Maybe I should ask Groschke, if he knows something about this Elenor.... But he hates it, if somebody wakes him up in the middle of the night. And besides, his contacts are probably not far enough to have infos here in Japan. Makes it all more interesting, though. And even better, all without Pretschlov. He should not think he would have done me a favor, again.

When it's time for the meeting, Greifer enters the mall. Just before he reaches the place, he got an idea and enters a pharmacy next to him, to buy a pack of this face masks, which can be seen almost everywhere wearn by a Japanese. Therefore he comes a few minutes to late, but now wearing one of this mask over his mouth.

@Viking "Well, I can give y'a turnaround in yer 30 minutes, but I rarely find anything worth lookin' at in that much time. 'Less I strike pay dirt, but that's jus' tryin' t'snag somethin' lucky. Usually takes at least that long just t'get a feel for where t'start lookin'... An' Ahm just tellin' ya the truth here, not negotiatin' or nuthin'. But, if that's whatcha want, I'll come back t'ya in 30 minutes with whatever I got." Viking said, followed by a long sigh.
"In that case, I'd better be goin'." He said again. He paused a few moments before closing the line, just time enough for a final comment from Viking.

Gala wrote:

He paused a few moments before closing the line, just time enough for a final comment from Viking.

@Nightwalker "Then let it be, sorry for disturbing ya."

helpfully he can be faster there and get a glimpse on the arrival of the J, Ashe was her name,
but that will be like finding a soyafree burger in a the fast food joint.

The start is not as good as I hoped, but still that's just an interview.

Kesslan shakes his head "No, thank you. I do not particularly like coffee. Right, so I'll pop off now and catch up to you at the meeting?" he asks of Ashe. "Like I said, shouldn't take long to put the order in I need, just need to find a suit that fits properly and I'll meet you there. I just want to be sure that if were going to be doing as much driving around as I think we will, that I'm properly equipped to survive a crash.. just in case. Might be fun to take some risks, but that doesn't mean you have to be stupid about it." Assuming she was in agreement, he then took his leave to do a quick bit of shopping his way. Quick, and simple. No fuss no muss. He'd hated being fitted for the business wear he had now, and certainly greatly preferred off the shelf solutions.

Viking arrives just 15 min before the scheduled meeting time.

First thing on Vikings agenda is a look at the Astral landscape of this mall

Then he investigates anything that looks out of place indirectly, mostly mindprobing a bystander, or if the target does not seem to be connected to any awakened being him directly. The spellcasting left Viking a bit tired, nothing a cup of coffee could not cure, so as the time was ripe for the meeting and he had gathered some information on this joint, he went to the described place for a cup of his desired beverage and a possible job

After Greifer bought the face mask, he wanders to the meeting place in the mall. He notices that he is a few minutes late, when he looks at his watch. But he didn't care that much. The world won't go under because of 2 minutes. Except the world consists of a room with a huge bomb with a time detonator, counting down from 2 minutes to zero. But then there should be much more panic around here. Lucky me.

When he arrives at the place, he looks for the elven lady from the picture. As sone as he sees her, Greifer also looks for other people who also watching her. For cameras, for obligatory bodyguards next to her, and for the even more obligatory bodyguards in the background.

Perception Roll:

Int 4 + Perc 3 + Visual Spec 2 + Gear Enhancment 3 = 12 dices = 2 hits

"Sure its not like I have anything better to do at the moment," Kap says to the voice, "be there in a bit." He notes that the mall is several blocks away, but it shouldnt take him very long to walk there. No obvious armament, meeting in a public place, white noise generator...these Japs know their business.

At this point a steaming plate of yellow and brown food arrives. Not exactly sure what sort of algae-soy makeup it was didn't bother Kap, as it smelled delicious. He mowed through his food, settling his stomach and paid his bill-leaving a generous tip for the waitress. He heads for the restroom to check his appearance, and once satisfied, exits. Figuring he was going to be staying in town for at least another night, Kap swung back by the hotel and nabs a bubble for a couple more nights. Droping his bags off in his assigned space, he pulls out a credstick and a couple of tranq and stim patches to carry with him in his jacket pockets and heads off toward the mall.

Upon arriving at the mall, Kap casually strolls around for a few minutes before heading to the picnic areas and looking out for the hostess and maybe a group of people around milling around her.

Sieg sends a last minute message to Fairytastic (fixer) to confirm that the contact had already contacted her to get his comlink number and not some else.

Begin Transmission
To:Fairytastic
From:Sieg

Hey there Fairy..someone called Ellenore just contacted me to set up an "interview" for a job..im hoping that is your doing?

End Transmission

Sieg then looks around for the woman on the picture.

(Perception Test)

(i forgot to add is actively looking for it..but i think with 4 hits i can find her anyways)

Since Greifer doesn't see anything strange he turn off his music, checkes his glasses and approaches the group.

[OOC: I will wait now until Gala says that the 2 minutes lateness are over.]

Ashe is easily located in the Gallery of the mall, sitting at one of the central tables in an area which is clearly intended for loitering and public use. She is obvious: Her clearly Elven ears are a dead giveaway. But beyond that, she is one of the better looking Elves to be found, and thus sticks out like a glowing light bub in a dark hallway in this somewhat upscale mall. Someone with her appearance would much more likely be found in an extremely posh club, having her shopping done for her! She has lightly tanned, unmarred skin nearly shining in the mid-afternoon light filtering in from the glass roofing. Her clothing would be appropriately termed "Business Casual". She is wearing white 3-inch pumps, with closed toes. Above that is a white pencil skirt, unwrinkled, and carefully smoothed over her lithely muscled legs. It is clear that she gets the exercise needed to keep herself healthy. Her blouse is either silk, or one of the synthetic silk lookalike fabrics (it is hard to tell, considering how well she is dressed). Her hair is pulled back over her ears, and hanging free in the back. A few strands have escaped her most recent attempt to keep her face unfettered, and are hanging down over her forehead. Her outfit makes it clear that she is careful about her choice of attire.
She is sitting alone when you approach (the three of you arriving slightly early), sipping at a cup of (presumably) Soy-Caf. Her Commlink is out and being held in her left hand with a viewing screen open. She is reading something. She looks up and acknowledges you as you arrive and take your seat with a nod, but does not introduce herself.
Some 5 minutes before the Meet is intended to start, a well built human walks up to Ashe and takes a seat at her table, just on her left hand side. OOC: Kesslan, feel free to describe your clothing to the group, as well as your physical appearance. He seats himself with little more than a greeting for Ashe, and a surreptitious look at the other three apparent 'Runners at the table. Ashe addresses the group at that time.
"Good afternoon, and thank you all for joining us." Ashe says, taking a slow sip of her Soy-Caf. She peers at the three attendees over the rim of her disposable cup.
"Allow me to introduce Kesslan, he and I are colleagues, and he will be giving you most of the presentation.
"As we are still missing one of our members, I would propose that we await the hour, and give him the time to arrive as needed." Ashe states, returning her attention to her coffee. At the same time, she carefully folds the viewing screen of her Commlink back in to the unit and places it in side her purse.
"In the mean time, this may be a good opportunity for you all to introduce yourselves to me and each other. Please give your name, your general specialty, and the languages you speak." OOC: This is not necessary, since you've already done this in the OOC thread.

5 mintes later, Ashe looks around the Gallery intently for a moment before returning her attention to the group at the table.
"Well, it appears that we are one short. Kesslan will be acting as a Team Lead for this team, and you will be answering directly to him, as well as accepting payment from him, if you all choose to accept this mission. Kesslan, without further adieu, please brief them on their current assignment, should they choose to accept it? Once he has finished his brief, and answered any mission specific questions you have, I will iron out the terms of payment with you all." Ashe asks, turning her attention to Kesslan with a smile and nod. She takes another sip of her Soy-Caf, signaling with her actions, as well as her words, that she has completed speaking for the moment.

After gathering some info, useless or no, he goes to the meet. before sitting down at the table he goes to the Bar and orders a cup of boiling water, then he adds some herbs to it and joins the meet.

Soya-caf good, Herb tea better.

The whole Table is filled with a bittersweat smell of tea, it is even more intense then the smell of real Coffee. "Konichi wa Ashe-Sama. As far as i understood you need my assistance in a delicate matter." seeing as Ashe is still looking for someone he gathers that he is not the last one to arrive and discontinue the question giving the last person the time to arrive and Ashe the time to enjoy her beverage for a few minutes in peace. He takes a sip of the The hot tea himself, it's not as good as Coffee for staying awake, but it's on a different level when it comes to health and revitalizing. The whole Spellcasting is almost forgotten before the Cup of tea is half empty.
After the Question from Ashe he just points out "My specialisation is the mind,memory specialist, and I may communicate with any sapient species that uses language even such as sasquatch or merrow."

While waiting on the last person Viking takes a better Astral look at the runners in the meet, and at Ashe as well

The man that is introduced by Ashe as Kesslan for the most part remains entirely silent while he waits for everyone to arrive. He was of average height, just a little over five and a half feet tall, and despite the fact that he was wearing a rather new looking motorcycle crash suit (Complete with motorcycle helmet that was placed before him on the table) it was easy to see that he had a fairly athletic build. Accenting this was his clearly South American heritage, darker than average skin, jet black hair and.. most notably bright yellow, cat slitted eyes. The eyes were a mostly unusual feature though, especially in Japan and North America, was common enough and had been for years thanks to ever increasingly affordable bio-modifications. Still, such things tended to stand out, even in the 2070's outside of certain circles.

Kesslan waited for everyone to finish introducing themselves before finally speaking in Japanese with an almost natural comfort, though it was clear it was not his native tongue if only due to his accent. "Our mission is quite simple, we are to find and recover an individual at the behest of our client. There is however one major hurdle before us." he says softly, pausing a moment as he manipulates something in his AR with his left hand. "The individual we seek went missing in this city a little over ten years ago and has not been seen since. Additionally, given the resources our client has thrown into this, along with the... significant benefits, would indicate that we are faced with a considerable challenge. It is also our belief that we will likely in the near future encounter significant resistance to our searching, though we do not know in what manner, nor when." he manipulates something in the AR again and you each find your comlinks flashing with a money transfer request. "However, before I continue, here is the promised advanced payment for showing up. However let me be clear, what you are payed is not up for negotiation, but it will be considerable. This is also something that is likely to be a very long term assignment so it's important that I make a few other things clear. First off, there are some unusual members among our existing group. I want it to be clear right from the start, if you have any sort issue working with individuals of a varied nature or background, now would be the time to say it, or preferably step out." his eye slits narrow as he looks over everyone seated here. "The team I have now works well together and no such bias exists. I don't care to add any issues over race or any other form of bias unless it was necessary because quite frankly this job is going to be too delicate to deal with such petty issues. You don't have to like each other, but you DO have to work with each other and everyone else on the team and do so in a professional manner."

After a few moments of awkward silence Kap stood and spoke up, "I will admit that I have a natural distrust of my Gnomish brethren and though I haven't yet seen any in my travels here, I have had much experience working with varied groups and my crew used to always have multiple types of metahumans, all who trusted and worked well with each other," said the grizzled veteran of the shadows. "My prejudices are my own and will not effect the mission," he stated sternly.

After a relaxing breath, he continued, "With that out of the way, I say we get down to business. Do you--or shall I say we now-- have any sort of information about this missing person? Perhaps a place start looking some if we don't? Knowing who this person is may help point us in the direction of how to find them."

With that Kap climbed back onto his chair.

Quote :

... information about this missing person? Perhaps a place start looking some if we don't? Knowing who this person is may help point us in the direction of how to find them"

Was the first words Greifer hears when I was near enough at the group to overhear the Noise Generator. He was dressed in his new Shirt showing the Skyline from Neo-Tokyo in black and blue colors and some normal Jeans. Whis his face mask he fittes very well in the crowd around him in the mall. When he got near the group his glasses switched from dark blue to transparent, so everybody here could see his eyes.

Greifer also note, that nobody wears a face mask or something equivalent or tries to hide from the cameras. Either the topic is not hot enough to care about lip readers or they already toke care about propably watchers. Eitherway it's good I don't need to wear this stupid mask for to long.

When reaching the group Greifers, takes down his face mask and faces the elven lady. Gome nasai. I was looking for some fitting street clothes for this meeting place. Ather this, he stand up straight again, smiles, take a chair from next to him and sits down on the table. This said, I hope you didn't get anymuch further than 'Hallo'? By the way. He looks around, still smiling My name is Helmchen or short Helm, may I ask for your names as well. Please?

With that he leans back and awaits a answer, either harsh or friendly.