[Poindexter]

Sam shakes his head. "Nah girl. It's gonna have to be a sim recording. I can loan ya a rig if ya need one."

Slap nodded. "That'll work. I don't keep one of my own. It would be a hundred-fifty beetles of someone tuning up an engine or changing oil or some drek like that."

One turns and heads back to the kitchen before opening a cupboard near the ground and removing a brown motorcycle helmet with a dark visor. He comes back into the living room and tosses it to you.

Upon closer inspection, you find the helmet is equipped with audio enhancement lvl 2, low light, flare compensation, and a lvl 4 respirator in addition to the sim rig.

"Take care of it. I need it back. Use it for hittin trains at night, word?"

[Tenlaar]

Samuel grits his teeth when One introduces him as Sambo.  This motherfucker's going to have people all over the damn city calling me that.  He shakes his head to the drink and focuses his attention on Mrs. Johnson.  She really looks shaken up.  And I can't believe anybody knows One well enough to get him to pull us together hasn't seen some shit.  Destroy the body?  The fuck?

"You know I'm down to bang One, long as it's banging on people that earned it.  You're really sure they earned it, I'm in for the 3.  Boss man just laughs when I ask about medical."

[Poindexter]

Samuel grits his teeth when One introduces him as Sambo.  This motherfucker's going to have people all over the damn city calling me that.  He shakes his head to the drink and focuses his attention on Mrs. Johnson.  She really looks shaken up.  And I can't believe anybody knows One well enough to get him to pull us together hasn't seen some shit.  Destroy the body?  The fuck?

"You know I'm down to bang One, long as it's banging on people that earned it.  You're really sure they earned it, I'm in for the 3.  Boss man just laughs when I ask about medical."

The woman looks up at you with a look of horror on her face, but before she can speak, One jumps in.

"Now, now. This aint exactly bangin' now. Least, if yall do it right, it won't be. Lets call this an extraction, only we don't know where the target is or if he's alive. Now IF he's gone, AND he's been picked up already, THEN there might be some bangin', word?"

[Tenlaar]

Samuel puts a hand up in a placating gesture.  "I got you, omae.  Track him down, bang only as needed."  He runs the hand through his hair.  "Still, I'm in."

As long as shit adds up right, at least.  Hope you really know who you're working with chum.

[Poindexter]

The broken horned troll has been standing in the corner with his arms folded, nursing a scowl since he came in. After hearing One lay down the whole spiel, he only seems to be more angry. Finally, he can't hold it down anymore. He explodes with "Nope! Nope! Fuck this! I dunno what kinda bullshit you're tryin to pull here, Sixseven, but I'm OUT!"

He looks over the group quickly, turns and heads for the door, swinging it open in a huff. Before leaving, he turns around in the doorway and says, "And the rest a yall? Yall best be careful. I don't know WHO the fuck Nitty is, but i aint him, and i don't know WHY the fuck this cat would tell you i am." Finally, he jabs his finger at One and says, "This type a shit right here is why i don't fuck with yall riverside motherfuckers," before storming out the door, his huge footsteps pounding all the way down the stairs, actually competing in volume with the bass from upstairs.

One looks angry and embarrassed for a moment, then jogs out of the room to chase after the troll, leaving you four alone in the room with "Mrs Johnson". She wears an expression betraying such a mix of emotions, not even she can process them all right now. After a few moments of silence, she stands up, walks to the other side of the room and plugs her commlink into the soundsystem for the room, makes a few movements with various AROs, and a song comes on. The younger among you don't recognize it, but it was a big hit about 20 years ago when fake cowboy yodeling came back for about six months in the pop scene. She closes her eyes and leans forward against the wall with both hands as the melody struggles to be heard above the thundering beats from above. She takes a deep breath and blasts it all out of her mouth before standing up straight and turning to face the group. With a clear voice and a near pleading tenor she says, "My name is Jill. Jill Marques. Our contact has proven to be a liar, but i want- no, i NEED you four to know that my intentions are pure, and that I can be trusted. Professor and Slackjaw can vouch for me. I have history with them. Please stay. I can answer any questions you might have about the situation."

[Nimbasa]

The broken horned troll has been standing in the corner with his arms folded, nursing a scowl since he came in. After hearing One lay down the whole spiel, he only seems to be more angry. Finally, he can't hold it down anymore. He explodes with "Nope! Nope! Fuck this! I dunno what kinda bullshit you're tryin to pull here, Sixseven, but I'm OUT!"

He looks over the group quickly, turns and heads for the door, swinging it open in a huff. Before leaving, he turns around in the doorway and says, "And the rest a yall? Yall best be careful. I don't know WHO the fuck Nitty is, but i aint him, and i don't know WHY the fuck this cat would tell you i am." Finally, he jabs his finger at One and says, "This type a shit right here is why i don't fuck with yall riverside motherfuckers," before storming out the door, his huge footsteps pounding all the way down the stairs, actually competing in volume with the bass from upstairs.

One looks angry and embarrassed for a moment, then jogs out of the room to chase after the troll, leaving you four alone in the room with "Mrs Johnson". She wears an expression betraying such a mix of emotions, not even she can process them all right now. After a few moments of silence, she stands up, walks to the other side of the room and plugs her commlink into the soundsystem for the room, makes a few movements with various AROs, and a song comes on. The younger among you don't recognize it, but it was a big hit about 20 years ago when fake cowboy yodeling came back for about six months in the pop scene. She closes her eyes and leans forward against the wall with both hands as the melody struggles to be heard above the thundering beats from above. She takes a deep breath and blasts it all out of her mouth before standing up straight and turning to face the group. With a clear voice and a near pleading tenor she says, "My name is Jill. Jill Marques. Our contact has proven to be a liar, but i want- no, i NEED you four to know that my intentions are pure, and that I can be trusted. Professor and Slackjaw can vouch for me. I have history with them. Please stay. I can answer any questions you might have about the situation."

Is she serious? No name basis, that's how this game is played. Isaac sighed, pushing himself off of the couch. He crushed the beer can between his palms with little resistance, and tossed the flat disc of aluminum behind him with a clatter. He steps forward, making eye contact with Jill, raising his eyebrows and flashing a quick smile. Dunno about you all, but I'm in till the end. But doc, who's this Ellis? You ain't ever talk about an Ellis when, well, you know. he raises his cyberarm and waves the comment off dismissively.  Isaac turns to Francis, You know the doc? he asks, face scrunched in confusion.

[reyjinn]

Francis tenses a bit up when Jill introduces herself to everyone, more so when she paints Sam as an untrustworthy liar, "OK, to start off. One and I go way back, I don’t know what kind of game he was playing with that troll fella’, but I would trust him with my life. There are a lot of things I wouldn’t trust him with, My baby sister being one, but my life is definitely not one of them. He’s solid."

Francis looks the group over to see if anyone has any protests before going on.

"Now with regards to the good doctor here, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of going through her meatgrinder a few times. Never known her to be anything other than a decent person worthy of trust, that said I don’t really know anything about her from a non-professional standpoint. Seems we have the same questions Slack, who is Ellis and more importantly what kind of shit has he gotten himself involved in?"

[Poindexter]

Francis tenses a bit up when Jill introduces herself to everyone, more so when she paints Sam as an untrustworthy liar, "OK, to start off. One and I go way back, I don’t know what kind of game he was playing with that troll fella’, but I would trust him with my life. There are a lot of things I wouldn’t trust him with, My baby sister being one, but my life is definitely not one of them. He’s solid."

"Oh, that's simple enough. I don't know anything about how to drum up shadowrunners, and Sam-er, One said he could get some high power prime runner types. The only name i knew that would qualify for such a title was Nitty. I'd never met him, but I'd heard that the troll does good work, so i requested him. One said he could get him, no problem. Then he shows up and tries to pass off some cramhead as the genuine article. Sad part is, I'd have never known if whoever that troll was hadn't spilled the beans. It makes me wonder what else I've been misled about."

Francis looks the group over to see if anyone has any protests before going on.

"Now with regards to the good doctor here, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of going through her meatgrinder a few times. Never known her to be anything other than a decent person worthy of trust, that said I don’t really know anything about her from a non-professional standpoint. Seems we have the same questions Slack, who is Ellis and more importantly what kind of shit has he gotten himself involved in?"

"Ellis is my son. He's always had his problems with drugs and stealing, but we never stopped loving eachother, no matter what. This afternoon, around 2pm, he sent me a message. I'll forward it you you four."

@Everyone,

>> Incoming Message
  >> Sender: Jill: fwd from: luvpig
    >> Message: hi mom. im truly sorry for everything i ever put you through. youll never have to deal with my bullshit ever again. i love you.

                                    -Ellis.

Her eyes begin to tear up again as you each read the message. "I'm afraid he may have done something foolish."

[SlowDeck]

Slap nodded as she accepted the helmet. "It comes back or I buy you a new one."

To her, it was a simple statement of agreement and a stating of the implied terms.

Then she looks over as the troll says he's not doing this and leaves. Interesting... I need the money too bad to not do this job. Guess he doesn't.

She then turns her attention back as a woman starts talking. She considers for a bit, then sighs. "Nitty isn't coming. He got geeked awhile back. Corporate hit got him. One got you the best people he could get. And he lied to you to protect you... Imagine if we get caught and they get us to talk. Then they ask you if you know us... but because you don't know my name, you can honestly say you don't. So it saves your hoop. And if a hit comes after us, they'll work on the wrong names... which protects us."

She smiled. "So, as far as you're concerned, that was Nitty that just walked out the door. Because while you are being lied to partially, those lies are as much to keep you alive as they are to keep us alive."

She then turned to her commlink and read the message, then frowned. "I can see why you're worried. I would be too."

[reyjinn]

"That veil seems to have been parted somewhat already. However Mrs. Johnson”, Francis made a point of stressing the nom de guerre, ”Slappendash is quite right that this anonymity has a very real purpose and we should try to keep to it. I understand that this is highly personal for you, but it is very important to try and be somewhat... clinical about this process."

”Now regarding Ellis. What further information can you offer us?” At this point Francis starts counting on his fingers with each question asked. ”Did he have a preferred drug of choice? Do you know whereabouts he usually spent his time? Dealers? People he might owe money to? Having a starting point to our search would be highly advantageous.”

[Poindexter]

She smiled. "So, as far as you're concerned, that was Nitty that just walked out the door. Because while you are being lied to partially, those lies are as much to keep you alive as they are to keep us alive."

She seems a little embarrassed, looking down at her shoes a bit while you talk, but she nods when you're finished, adding "Yes of course, you're right. I'm so sorry. Thank you for your patience, miss. I mean, Wiz, Slap." in a quite sheepish tone.

”Now regarding Ellis. What further information can you offer us?” At this point Francis starts counting on his fingers with each question asked. ”Did he have a preferred drug of choice? Do you know whereabouts he usually spent his time? Dealers? People he might owe money to? Having a starting point to our search would be highly advantageous.”

She listens to all your questions carefully before answering.

"With Ellis, cram was always the thing, but really? It was whatever he could get his hands on. Wasn't his fault, he had a predisposition for the stuff since he was a baby. Genetic abnormality was what the doctors had said. As for whereabouts, dealers, or people he may owe money to? Well, he owes money to everyone he knows, so he can't really maintain a steady drug dealer or a steady place to hangout. Ellis spent his whole life on the run. It was my fault. We spent so much of his childhood running, he got good at it."

She takes another deep breath and exhales from her mouth again, flopping back down on the chair and putting her head in her hands for a moment. After a beat, she comes back up and leans back in the seat before continuing.

"The last time I saw my son, it was two weeks ago. He had been living with me for the past month, and really seemed like he was going to get clean this time. Then, one morning, I woke up, and he had cleaned out my entire pharmaceutical bin. Next I heard from his was the text today."

[Tenlaar]

Hands in his pockets, Samuel listens as Ellis' story is laid out.  A wild cramhead hunt?  That's damn sure not what I was expecting.  After hearing that Ellis robbed Jill, he lets out a derisive grunt and shakes his head. 

Taking his hands out of his pockets he moves a couple of steps closer to Jill, crossing his arms across his chest.  "Ok, so I get you want to find your son.  What I don't get so far is why you're prepared to hand out five paydays when you could get questions asked with one or two."  Realizing he has fallen into an aggressive posture, he leans back and drops his arms to his sides.  "What are you expecting here?  I count too many heads for something this basic."

[Poindexter]

Taking his hands out of his pockets he moves a couple of steps closer to Jill, crossing his arms across his chess.  "Ok, so I get you want to find your son.  What I don't get so far is why you're prepared to hand out five paydays when you could get questions asked with one or two."  Realizing he has fallen into an aggressive posture, he leans back and drops his arms to his sides and looking at One.  "What are you expecting here?  I count too many heads in here for something this basic."

"Ok, everything's on the table now. Here we go. In my younger days, I was an accredited, respectable doc, working for EVO. Born into it, y'know? Had myself a happy little life with a nice place to live and a good enough man to share it with. Ellis was my only child, so when he was born, I made sure to get him every test, every checkup, every examination I could. I wanted to make sure he'd have the chance to have the best things in life. Well, one of these tests showed that, due to a unique genetic abnormailty, he had a strange reaction to most addictive substances, but cram especially. They told me to make sure to keep an eye on him during his formative pre-teen years, as any drug use could lead to terrifying long term addiction for him."

She takes another long pause before interrupting herself. "Jesus frakkin CHRIST, i need a beer! One of yall mind grabbing me one? Thank you so much." After taking a long chug from it, she stifles a small breathy burp with one hand before continuing.

"I was only 22 and I hadn't had but 2 hours sleep in the 5 days since I'd given birth when they brought me the papers to sign. They were offering me a sizable bonus in exchange for the legal rights over Ellis's remains upon his death. I signed them. And it wasn't just because i was young and foolish and wanted the money, but also because i truly trusted them at the time. You have no idea what being raised and brainwashed by their propaganda for your entire life does to you.

Anyway, it was only about 6 years later, when Ellis first started going to school that strange things started happening. In a nutshell, without getting into details, I slowly began to believe that people were trying to kill my son. And gradually, i came to believe that those people were the very people I'd signed that contract with. The bastards weren't content to wait until he died on his own. They wanted to collect on their investment early. So, i fled. I packed up everything I had, took my son and we ran, moving from city to city for the course of his whole childhood.

The point is, if my son is dead, and he's been picked up by the city, he WILL be identified and EVO's people WILL come to pick him up. Not only do I shudder to think about the advances in addictive drug manufacture they can achieve after studying him, but I simply can't stand the thought of what they'll do to him if they get him. But he'll be hard to get back from them and that's where the five paychecks come in. If my boy is still out there and all you have to do is ask a few questions, then fuck it. Easy payday for you, right? But if he's not..."

She looks each one of you in the eye before finishing.

"I want my boy back at home with his mother, even if's he's only ashes in an urn. Can you do this for me?"



The brief emotional moment is shattered when the door swings open and One bursts back into the room, full of energy and nursing a black eye and a busted lip. "WHADDUP YALL?! Everything still poppin' up in here?"

[Tenlaar]

A corp trying to tighten the grip a little bit more.  Color me fuckin' shocked.  Kid doesn't seem worth the effort but hitting EVO's checkbook a little is a hell of a bonus.  Samuel looks at One as he comes back in.  I need to get that fool a padded mask for his birthday, he's never going to learn to duck.

He crouches down and rests his left elbow on his knee.  "This is some shit, One.  Here's hoping for the easy payday, but we all know how that usually works out."  He looks back to Jill.  "I can't make promises about how it'll turn out, but I can promise I'll look.  How long have you been in the city?  Junkies have to have somebody already in the loop to make connections, any names he's mentioned before?  Damn near as many drug spots as there are city blocks, we could spend a month and find nothing without some trail to follow."

[Poindexter]

He looks back to Jill.  "I can't make promises about how it'll turn out, but I can promise I'll look.  How long have you been in the city?  Junkies have to have somebody already in the loop to make connections, any names he's mentioned before?  Damn near as many drug spots as there are city blocks, we could spend a month and find nothing without some trail to follow."

"We've been in jacksonville for about 15 years now. I figured it was a podunk enough place that maybe they wouldn't look for us here. It worked too, but as soon as a coroner runs his bio data through the database, it's gonna come up. The only real starting place i can give you, and it aint much, is a rumor i heard. Something about a huge drug party going on off emerson highway about 2 weeks ago. Apparently, some junkie hit the payday and wanted to share his good fortune with others. That sounds like the kind of thing Ellis would do and it matches the timeline. Speaking of timelines, Here's something you might not know about morgue procedure, They don't do shit on the weekends. There's very little chance that he'll be shipped out before monday morning, so I suppose that's the closest thing to a deadline you've got."