[Csjarrat]

Fucked if I know mate, s'pose its possible. Question is Why? though. Can't see what he'd gain by tracking us an' fucking wi' us. Aye, by the looks o' tha' map, we'll do it nae problem. Piece o' piss. Problem is wha' we'll do wi' ourselves when we get there for a couple o' hours.
You glance to the clock on the dashboard, showing 23.02. You'd obviously covered a lot of ground while you'd nodded off.
It had only felt like five minutes kip, but now you awoke you felt like shit. Your throats rasped for a ciggy and your full bladders ached for release

[Csjarrat]

An hour or so passed as Dunk closed the distance to Etaples, following the route that Slicer MD had found.
Passing the time, you both skimmed through the public node of Etaples' tourist information, looking for anything that might help shed a light on what Smith's outfit had planned for you.
Info was pretty scarce, Etaples itself was a small town of about 20,000 people clustered around a quaint harbour and fish market. It's primary source of income was tourism, the old harbour providing a source of income for small pleasure boats and light fishing craft that serviced the English channel's limited remaining shellfish industry.
It held an annual food and wine festival and the average hotel price ran to around 50NY. Other than some pretty stock photos of the harbour in summertime, the rest of the info was rather tailored to day-trippers. Bus route information, child changing facilities and parking rates filled out the other pages.

The winding country roads gradually faded from fields to old outbuildings, to pretty cottages and then you saw the sign denoting the boundary of Etaples. Dunk slowed to match the 30km/h speed limit, the warning of speed enforcement cameras raising his caution.
Right lads, what's the plan?

[Lumen]

"If we got time to kill a piss and a smoke would be tops mate.  Though it would probably be a good idea if you went in this time.  Hopefully this town is big enough for a 24 hour convenience store. Either way I'd like to be waiting on our ride when it shows up."

Knives taps his foot impatiently.  Waiting was making the cravings worse, smoking and joking was the way to kill time back in the East End.

[Csjarrat]

Aye, that sounds alreet te me.
He continued the cruise into what appeared to be the centre of town, street lights once again taking over as you re-enter civilisation.
The place appeared deserted, the few restaurants and cafe-bars you could see had shut for the night; chairs stacked on tables and lights turned off.
The centre of the town looked just as picturesque as the node had depicted. It was dominated by a large open cobbled market square with shop premises dotted around the buildings lining the two sides. The far side was open, a large stone stairway leading downwards to the harbour and the main road you drove on formed the the final part of the square.
The buildings nearby seemed to have allsorts of chemists, tobacco stores and general convenience stores but all were shut for the night.
You had a horrible sense of deja-vu as the only store that seemed open was a 24 hour fuel station on the far side of the town. Not wanting to expose the damaged car to any more CCTV cameras, dunk pulled up short of the forecourt in a public parking space.
Ye sure ye want me te go in? 

[Scawire]

After the crap visit to the store, where a Nazi wouldn't let Mantis get any smokes, Mantis takes off his latex mask and gets into his new clothes. Ya everyone gets to see my nice black anime boxers. Still pissed about not getting a smoke for the drive Mantis is glad that the new town does have a 24hr shop. Maybe Dunk can succeed where the ork couldn't. I tell you it's like you have to be some sodden Royal to get anything in this world. Mantis sits back in his seat. Any death sticks you can find Dunk would be arctic with me. Mantis wishes he was not so beat up, maybe then he could send a few fire elemental to send fiery death on some garbage cans around the last French city they where in. Once I'm healed I'm still sending a fire elemental back to that city, the garbage will burn. I tell you it will burn. Just have to get this leg fixed.

[Lumen]

"On second thought I'll go.  Shouldn't send a Scotsman to do an Englishman's job."  Knives chuckles at his joke as he exits the car.  He lets out a few groans in the process but makes his way slowly towards the shop.

[Csjarrat]

Dunk smiled.
Aye, it's an englishmans job te get two jocks their smokes alreet. Now get running, haha.

Stepping out of the warm car was a shock to the system. The air was freezing, a stiff northerly breeze whipped off the channel and tore into your cheap thin clothing, blowing away the warm sleepy feeling you'd had on the back seat.
You lengthened your pace, closing the short distance to the forecourt with an ache in your shoulder and a crick in your neck. A light flickered on the canopy over the fuel pumps, casting uneven and intermittent shadows around the pumps.
The smell of biodiesel tickled at your nostrils as you approached the small shop, seeing that the main door had been shuttered leaving only the night serving hatch open for business.
You approached tentatively, seeing the camera covering your approach but accepting the inevitable. Pressing the serving bell, you wait a minute before a scruffy looking troll in corporate colours approached the hatch.
Oui?

[Lumen]

Knives smiles and nods at the clerk.  "No french.  Smokes please."  He points to the cigarettes behind the counter and holds up up two fingers.

[Csjarrat]

He gestures at the SiN reader to your right and shambles off to the cigarette rack with a dull  uninterested nod.
sin test please

[Csjarrat]

The scanner chirps and the troll shoves two cheap packs through the hatch, his sour smelling breath wafting through the gap with them. His tinny headphones leak some shit sounding punk  and he pops them back in, shuffling back off to the back of the shop.

[Lumen]

"Sweet nicotine."  Knives scoops up the packs and has one in his mouth by the time he hits the door.  Once he makes it back to the car he lights his smoke and tosses a pack to Mantis.   "Alright lads all is right in the world, cept this fuckin cold.  Let's get to our spot."

[Scawire]

Hot dam my lungs will be doing jumps for joy in  second. Mantis grabs the smokes and tears the rapping off. With the smoke lite and gracing his lungs with the sweet nectar of nicotine he moves out of the way so Knives can get in. Thanks mate this is a small taste of heaven. Mantis drags away waiting to see what the groups next move was. Most likely the meet. Best see what this small town is all about and what our meet location is like. Mantis fixes his Trod cap in place and asks his Agent to run a search first on the location they have a meeting at then a search on any info about this town.

[Csjarrat]

The first search on Etaples doesn't bring up too much you didn't know already from the trawling of the public node.
It rounds out some information on the harbour; it has capacity for 120 light commercial/recreational craft and is submits to the Boulogne-sur-mer Port authority for regulated shipping traffic, but Slicer seems to have found more out about the town's demographics than is useful to you.
The second search however provides more meat to go on:

//Search results:: Tags; Etaples//France
1)La mer Geneureuse: Seafood restaurant, 4 star. 1e aveneu, Etaples {location}
2)La mer Genereuse: A new restaurant opens (translation) {Article, source; Le Monde}
3)La mer Genereuse: 2068; A theatre production based on the Phillipe Geroult short story {Drama and Theatre}
4)La Mer Genereuse: a Phillipe Geroult short story {Books and Literature}
5)La mer Genereuse: International Shipping registry {Other}.
showing top 5 results of:: 167 similar
END//

[Csjarrat]

___Lumen____
Your Commlink vibrates in the shallow pocket of your cheap clothing as Mantis paws at the search results pinging back to him on-screen.
<<Incoming message:: ANON>>//Ah good, you've arrived. Ask for Pietr. Keep your heads down when you get home. We'll be in touch//

[Lumen]

"Good news lads we're going home!  Message says to ask for a Pietr.  I'm guessing it's that international shipping listing we're after mates."  Knives lets out a sigh of relief as his mind drifts back to the shady alleys of the East End.