[Ren]

Gibbon started to worry. Problems were mounting and this wasn’t really news from the start of the job. Team members coming and going, additional stuff coming up – the job started to fall apart. It was time to think about bailing out. The money, however, was good, and he could use it.
To the others, he said ”Hey, Silk, no problem, important thing is you’re here. What makes me worry is that even you don’t know what’s up with Andromeda. You seemed to be close, I hoped you would know. She seemed distant for the last few days. Kitten, any chance you can tell us something about her? Or could one of you give her a call? I’d like to get over with this, just not without everybody present or accounted for.”

[farothel]

"I don't know anything," Kitten said, "but between my night shifts and checking things out during the day, I haven't had much time.   I assumed she was busy with checking things like everybody else.  Let me try calling her."

She put in a call to Andromeda, hoping she would be there.  If not, she would leave an urgent message to contact her back.

[Chrona]

Kitten's call is unfortunately met by Habu's pilot program, acting as an answering machine.

[Xzylvador]

"Bet you'll get the answering machine.", Silk said while Kitten was making the call. "Trust me, it's not the first time she's done this. And I tried four times already.
Without our rigger and driver can we still steal the truck, either by driving manually or taking over its pilot? Pulse, I'm guessing that'd leave that part of job to you, you up for it?"

[farothel]

"We'll have to," Kitten said, "or do things differently, but then the question is, how?  But first, Pulse, you had something?  Let's start with that and then we'll see."

[Ren]

"Erm, before we do that, Gibbon interjected, "I'd like all of you to turn wireless off completely. I may sound paranoid but i just want to ensure our privacy. And if any of you have a white noise generator, that might be a good ide as well." Gibbon just hit the off button on his commlink as soon as he began talking.

[Xzylvador]

Silk pulled a small device out of her pocket and put it on the table. It started... babbling. The words were all nonsensical, it was even impossible to put any kind of language on it. It'd be a very distracting thing to anyone trying to listen in to the conversation. She also put her commlink on the table and turned it off manually.
"Done. Now would you please explain yourself."

Not sure if judge intention is required or useful here. If she's got even half the impression that she's might be being set up, though, she's just activate a hairpin trigger on her hidden gun arm slides and palmed a smoke grenade in one hand and a flashpak in the other.

[Punch]

Looking at the others he put both commlinks on the table and turned them both off with out a word, pausing to glare at them as if he was expecting them to turn on.
"Mine are off; I hope, lets get this over with."

[RHat]

Normally I'd assume I'm safe from hackers, but given how I got onto this job in the first place...  Best take care, in case he's brought on yet another technomancer...  Sergei had paused visibly, as if trying to make some sort of decision, before he grimaced visibly.

"I'm offline, but this is very, very uncomfortable - I'd prefer we not do this too often."

[Chrona]

With all electronic and Matrix distractions out of the way and the white noise generator buzzing and babbling in the center of the table the restaurant begins to fade into the background. The group feels very much alone and cut off, which in this case might be a good thing.
Obviously problems are mounting.
Elsewhere in the city a heavily modified Nordkapp Zuggmachine pulls into a scrap heap in Puyallup. Though the Scrapper Kouryuu greets it, no one exits. It would seem to be abandoned when he investigates it.

What he does find is a single commlink on the dashboard, he grimaces as he gets nearer.
It is... was the implanted variety.

[Ren]

"Believe me, i'm also not glad to be cut off from my PAN." Gibbon replied. "So, what was that you mentioned about Johnson Junior?"

[RHat]

"It's not just a matter of being cut off - I'm a technomancer, or virtuakinetic if you prefer; going dark like this is a distinctly unpleasant experience, and takes constant effort."  Normally he wouldn't have advertised himself like that, but given what he was about to tell them it was actually the best place to start.  "As for Johnson Junior, it's...  Complicated.  Just hear me out before you say anything - and not a word of this can leave this group, or I'm probably next on the chopping block; he did not want me telling you about this drek."  He grimaced again from the effort of keeping himself offline.

"If you're wondering what the odds are that you guys would lose one technomancer only to immediately have a new one show up, stop.  It's not a coincidence.  Junior decided he wanted to have a little 'chat' with Legion, and hired me to facilitate a calm discussion - at least, that's the line of drek he sold me.  So we went to Legion's place, and he had me shut the guy's drones down; I had no idea he'd react the way he did, but I somehow think Junior wanted him to.  Legion went into a rage, and Junior just up and strangled him.  Didn't even seem put off by it - he claimed Legion was just unconscious, but I didn't exactly get a chance to check that."  He leaned against the table, looking a bit like he was inspecting the grain of the artificial wood.  "It's not like that's what I'd signed on for."

"Anyways, I didn't even have the chance to get the hell out of there before he gets a ping on his commlink, and tells me you guys are looking for Legion's replacement, and that he wants me to take the job.  I figured maybe I could balance the scales for whatever the hell happened with Legion, so I took the job.  He offered me an extra 5000 to keep him posted on the plan and updated during the job; apparently, he'd made the same offer to Legion, but I can't say if he took it or not. I told him 'no' as politely as I could, which comes across like an 'I'll consider it', and went on to contact you guys."  He gulped down some of his drink.

"Fast forward to today, I get a message from him saying Andromeda might have been 'compromised', and that I should check out her latest messages.  I haven't done anything on that yet, though - she was your teammate longer than she was mine, I'm sure, and it's not a great idea to go crossing your own team, especially when you're the new guy.  All in all, I'm starting to wonder just how involved in things Junior is here..."

[farothel]

Kitten had put her commlink, turned off, together with the others.
"You mean we're not only going against the Azzies, but maybe against our own Mr. J as well," she said when Pulse had finished,  "Just our frakking luck.  If I wasn't allergic to bug spirits, I might consider Chicago to be a nice vacation spot.  So, what now?  Tell the junior J a different plan than the one we're going to do?  Tell him the real plan?  And what is the plan with Andromeda gone?"

[RHat]

"As it stands, I'm not intending to tell him anything about the plan, and he's not expecting me to.  As for Andromeda...  I'm trying to decide if I should crack into her commlink to figure out what's happening; could be she's in some danger, after all, or that whatever's got her MIA is something we need to worry about too.  If she's not gonna be able to work the job, I've got my ways of filling in for her if we're just driving their truck out."

[Punch]

Locking eyes with Gibbon for a fraction of a second, with his hand on the table balling it into a fist then relaxing it again, it had been a long time since someone had made him angry.
"I vote yes on that, to changing the plan and also hacking Andromeda, if that ....if he's done anything I.... don't want to go into details, but we need to discuss something else first, don't we?
Looking back towards Gibbon.