[HydroRaven]

"Another day, another nuyen" goes the saying. That applies for all the corporate drones, the wage slaves that work for any of the mega corps. But in the shadows, it's more "another day, another bullet dodged". Any runner still alive knows this saying all too well.

As is customary in Seattle, rain covers the whole of the city like a cold, damp blanket. The gloom of the city is accentuated by the humidity, the lights reflecting off the raindrops in the distance. The day started like so many others, and whether it was for a stiff drink at the end of the day or it was to listen to the live band, you somehow ended up at the Edge, a mid-sized bar just on the right side of the border between the Barrens and the rest of Seattle. The music is blaringly loud, but the Trideo keeps on playing the news:

"In a surprise move, Evo has sold CrashCart this morning and investors don't know what to make of it. Evo's stock surged 2.8% on the BSE after the announcement and fell back afterwards to register an overall 0.2% rise at closing. Details of the transaction haven't been disclosed, including the identity of the buyer. Rumours are that it is a privately-owned fund out of Germany, but Evo refused to comment. Analysts think the deal could have been worth anywhere from ¥5B to ¥15B, but, once more, no official statements from Evo."

The bartender switches to another channel, where a virtual anchorwoman is reading a different set of news. "...in what witnesses are saying was a nightmare on foot. A man that goes by the name of Bud said he saw what happened." The virtual newscaster vanishes and the image of an older downtrodden man appears on screen. "I was across the street but I saw the whole scene. The trog was walking when suddenly a big shadow slammed him on the wall and splattered his brains all over the place. It then kneeled over the body and left as quick as it came. I stayed over on my side because I didn't want any trouble but then after KE got on the scene. I think it's strange that..." The image cuts back to the virtual newscaster. "To recap, the brutal murder of Will Carter, affluent member of the Mitsuhama museum of arts. He was found decapitated early this evening by..."

Either from boredom or because he wants the band to have the centre stage, the bartender turns off the Trideo and you're left to yourselves, the music drowning your thoughts.

[cr4kp0t]

It has been a long couple of days for Alexander, not long back at the surgery and business hadn't slowed down during his absence. Mostly he had been dealing with the local families and the odd fight injury. Today started out just like any other day, boring as ever he was about to close up when when a man fell at the door banging and calling for help. His bloodied hands smearing the Plexiglas of the surgery door.

He'd put him on the table and examined his injuries he'd been shot at close range with a shotgun and his back was littered with pellet wounds, nearly torn apart and missing huge chunks of flesh there was nothing he could to save him. Even now it cuts him up inside when he can't save someone.

After cleaning up the surgery and putting the body on ice he headed out into the dreary misery of the usual Seattle Drizzle, pulling up the collar of  his Mortimer great coat to cover his neck before swiftly hiding his hands inside the deep pockets to protect from the cold breeze. He just needed to unwind try and move on from the sight of another dead body ingrained on his corneas.

It wasn't long before he wound up near his old home of the Barrens and entering the club 'Edge' he thought to himself, Edge? Hey it could be worse; who knows maybe it will be able to take the edge off my day. As he walked into the club and was barraged by the repetitive blaring of the band on stage. He walked to bar and took a seat and ordered a drink. Knocking them back while watching the trid. Annoyed at the bartender when he cut the feed he turned to watch the band and thought to himself. Evo sold CrahCart? and won't say anything about it? Got to find out more about that me thinks. It wasn't long before he couldn't resist his own curiosity over Evo and so he went to his Daily Comm his Novatech Airware, loading the AR interface in his image link he tapped away at the icon as he initiated his search:

Activate: - Net Wizard
Establishing search subroutine
Parameters:
- Evo corporation sales
- CrashCart
- - Current projects
- - Key Personalities
- Stock prices (48 hours)

Initiate Search
Searching...


[spoiler=Browse Roll]
Browse roll:
Data search 4
Browse rating 3
Analytically Mind +2
Encephalon +1
10d6.hits(5)=2
[/spoiler]

[HydroRaven]

@Patch

Your search turns up nothing out of the usual except for rumours. Some say Renraku bought it, others say it was Buttercup that pushed for the offloading. Obviously there is no proof to back up those rumours.

[Csjarrat]

Kinkou sipped the head of her fresh soybeer, the bouncing of the front row crowd nearly spilling it down her front.
The band were decent, she'd been keen to hear their new stuff since the new frontman joined up. The lead guitarist was a bit of a hottie too, but he was too busy staring at the blonde bombshell further to Kinkou's right.
They way she was staring and pouting back meant she knew that commcodes would be exchanged after the gig at a minimum.
The bartender's channel hopping distracted her attention, the rapid changes in flashing images on the Trid catching her eye, right at the point where the hobo-ish looking guy was describing the "shadow" attacking.
There seemed to be no end to the crazy shit that went down in town nowadays, but she tried not to worry about it too much, especially if it was some prick from the art world. He'd probably rubbed some investor up the wrong way by slagging off his favourite painting and losing him a ton of cash or some bull-crap like that.
With the Trid off, her attention settled back into the band. Blondie had pushed her way up to the front of the small but energetic crowd, loosening the top button of her skintight dress to reveal a little extra bosom.
Kinkou mentally wished her good luck and enjoyed the last of the guitar solo. 

[cr4kp0t]

As the search results start to filter across his AR display Alexander takes time to examine each of the articles found and seeming somewhat disappointed when nothing more than rumor appears.Hmm guess that would have been too easy with this thought he swipes away with his AR glove to terminate the active session.

Returning his attention to the bar he gets another drink and start to watch the band. Maybe this night will pick up some before it was over.

[TheDarkMessiah]

Magpie sat back on a stool at the bar, his long grotty looking coat trailing almost on the floor. He sipped on his soybeer. He had some free time to kill, and this place had a pretty decent selection of bands. He'd seen this lot play before; he came to the Edge often enough, so was likely a recognised face by now. After all, how many Shaman frequented a place like this?

His eyes scanned the bar, smiling at the sites. He had barely caught what was on the Trideo,  caught up in the music and the atmosphere as he was it did not seem an issue to him. His hand shook as he put down his soybeer and cracked his neck. He was craving. He'd not had his fix today. He had the psyche in his pocket, but he hadn't done any just yet. The time wasn't ripe.

Magpie put his hand into his pocket when another man coming to the bar surprised him. He dropped the baggie with the psyche in it. No matter. It's not like they were illegal. MCT made 'em. Everybody took that. With a quick glance down and a muttered "Gimme a hand, boss." Magpie attempted to flick the baggie back up onto the bar.

Who knows, maybe it would impress a chick.

[Spoiler=Magic Fingers]
Cast Magic Fingers to pick up the baggie (at Force 1)
Spellcasting roll:
Spellcasting 5
Magic Rating 5
Raven Mentor +2
12d6.hits(5)= 3 /Maxed at 1 for Force
Drain roll (DV=2):
Charisma 5
Willpower 4
Focused Concentration +1
10d6.hits(5) = 3
[/spoiler]

[RHat]

Jimmy walked into the bar, his greatcoat billowing behind him in the wind.  He was in a sour mood; he'd been looking forward to a race tonight, but the other riders had pulled out because the rain had rendered the streets for this route too dangerous for them.  It sucked, but he was hoping he might be able to salvage the night.  He took a bit of a scan of the bar as he walked in, making some note of who took notice and who didn't so he could figure out how to make something fun happen here, and grabbed a seat at the bar, waving the bartender over to order a drink.

He hadn't been to this particular bar before, and it was looking like a pretty quiet place tonight; that didn't exactly suit him so well given his plans for the night were more or less ruined, but he could at least grab a drink or two before deciding what to do next.  Frame of mind he was in, a quiet night just wasn't in the cards.  Maybe stick around for just a bit, see if something comes up on the river here...

[HydroRaven]

A dwarfish woman that had been sitting by herself at the bar stands up when the band is taking a break and starts walking around. She stands out like a troll in Salish territory with her designer outfit and her ¥5,000 shoes. She goes up to Shark, being obviously drawn in by his charisma, and asks him "Are... are you a shadowrunner?" without gracing him with any foreplay. "I need help with something" continues the nervous woman, clearly out of her element.

[RHat]

Jimmy flashed her a bit of a smile.  "Oh, I've been known to do some work here and there.  Happen to know I'm not the only one in here, too."  This was true, seeing as he'd clocked the second story girl from a job a little bit back.  He pulled out the bar stool beside him, inviting her to sit down.  She was motivated enough to reach out like this, and she clearly had money; could be it would pay to listen.

[HydroRaven]

"Thanks" answers the woman as she sits on the stool. "I need help with a personal matter, but I don't know who to reach out to. I heard on the news that shadowrunners come to these kind of places to get work, so I thought I would try my hand." She is visibly uncomfortable in this environment, but there is a certain determination to her that is sending you a mixed signal. Whoever she is, she is clearly not from this part of town.

"I require someone to avenge my father's death. I'm willing to pay you and your friends for your trouble, of course. But it would need to be done quickly."

[TheDarkMessiah]

Having recieved said baggie of Psyche and leaning back at the bar to sip on his pint again, Magpies eyes scanned the bar. He was for the most part looking around to see if there was anybody he could con into coming home with him. Seduce. That was the word, not con. Of course.

[Spoiler=Perception]
Notice:
Intuition 3
Perception 2
5d6.hits(5) → [5,3,6,6,2] = (3)
Listen!:
Intuition 3
Perception 2
5d6.hits(5) → [6,3,1,4,5] = (2)
[/spoiler]

[cr4kp0t]

As the night goes on and Alexander kept the drinks coming, it was nothing like what he was used to and he couldn't hide the expression of disappointment on his face. with nothing else to do he surveyed the crowd looking for a glimmer of excitement in this night...
There must be something worth staying for here...

[spoiler=Perception 1]
Notice:
Perception pool: 7
7d6.hits(5)=4

Going to assume I notice here with that roll 
[/spoiler]

Noticing the stylish woman walking around looking almost lost, at first and watching her out of place start taking to another guy at the bar he couldn't help but try to eavesdrop on the conversation. He tries to look like he's not interested while doing so but inevitably gives it away.

[spoiler=Perception 2]
Listen:
Perception pool: 7
7d6.hits(5)=2
[/spoiler]

[HydroRaven]

@Magpie & Patch

You notice a well-dressed dwarfish woman talking to a relatively good-looking elvish man. Although the woman looks to be miles away from her comfort zone, there's no mistaking the elvish man is right in the middle of his. This odd pairing makes them stand out from the crowd, but the ambient noise makes it hard to know what they're talking about.

[RHat]

Couldn't be more green if she tried...  Hell, maybe she is trying.  He waved down the bartender to order a couple of drinks while he scanned around the bar to see if he could make anyone paying too much attention - though that could just as easily be runners interested in the potential work as people with malicious intent.  "So what should I call you?  Normally, in this sort of arrangement you keep your own name out of this, but since this involves your father that's not really much of an option - but maybe you can tell me, and we'll just keep that little detail to ourselves for now, yeah?  For that matter, what happened to him, exactly?"  He figured he'd play the friendly guide for now, earning her trust if she was being honest or letting her think she had him fooled if she wasn't; either way worked just fine for him - seeing as she wasn't coming to him through a fixer, of course, there was no question that he was going to be vetting her himself.  Still, he should start working on getting a team together - didn't want to turn this into a full meet just yet, but he figured he should at least let that Japanese girl he'd worked with before know to stick around.

@Kinkou <<You available for a job?  Sitting at the bar here talking to a possible client; if you know anyone else in here let me know, but I'd like to keep the conversation here between me and her for the moment.>>


Judge Intentions; Perception with Actively Looking bonus and Vision Enhancement 3 (11d6.hits(5)=4, 9d6.hits(5)=3)

[HydroRaven]

@Shark

The woman responds "My name is Miss Cooper. You might have heard of my father, Mr. Harold Cooper. He died quite recently, although I think Knight Errand didn't do a good job investigating his death. They say he commited suicide, but knowing my father, I don't believe that to be true. I have voiced my concerns about the way they handled the matter, but they told me to take it up with the customer complaint program and by the time they have it sorted, I get the feeling my grandchildren won't know what to do with it." you can definitely see some frustration and bitterness in her body language as she tells her story.

Looking around, you do notice a few people either intentionally or not trying to listen in on your conversation. Of note is an older human male that looks like he's used to the shadows, another one looks like a burned-out ork with a visible cyberdeck, and the last one is what can only be described as an obvious shaman (or at least he's trying very hard to look like one with a big feather trench coat and other shamanic trinkets).

Your gut feeling tells you that the dwarfish woman is being honest with you so far.