[FastJack]

Mercedes takes Bessie Mae's hand to see if she'll follow with someone leading her. If she does, she keep hold of the girl to make sure she gets to safety.

"Transportation would be good. But we have to be careful with the package. As soon as we get a signal, we should contact Jeshua's father and let him know the situation. I think that will be an interesting conversation."

[Sludig]

Woofer keeps a watch out as Mercedes leads the girl, "Oh, he's going to be fucking estatic about it, likely turn his own kid into a science experiment."

[Kontact]

"I don't think Germaine is that creative.  More likely he'll tell us to shoot the kid, offer more money when we refuse, and, finally, he'll try to have us arrested for kidnapping and murder regardless.  Now that we've already done the lifting, we need to protect ourselves from the boss.  This ain't a working man's world.  I say we try to keep the Kreiger's a secret until we establish a drop point."

[inca1980]

@Mercedes:

You grab Bessie Mae's hand and as you begin to lead her you notice that she does follow but remains in a completely catatonic state.

@Everone:

The whole team begins to make their way back over the wasteland toward the old industrial site and about 30 minutes later once you reach it you begin to pick up a weak signal from routing nodes inside the 228th Ave overpass overhead.  You see Spiderman's cyber-irises rotate and focus on the railguard up on the overpass where a few figures are still standing.  Spiderman looks at the team and speaks.  "Blood Mountain Boys up top.  Even though they're at war with the Crushers, I got a cousin who rolls with them.  I'll ask if he's around and they could come give us a ride."

He opens up a public ARO and pings the public comms of the figures up on the overpass.  Spiderman looks at you guys, "We're in luck, my cuz is hanging tonight.  He said he'd grab a few Boys and swing around to get us....he said he'll pick us up right next to the old bio-dome a few blocks north." 

You all hike to the old bio-dome which now has the windows completely blackened with soot.  Sure enough 6-7 go-gangers on bikes roll in, and the one in the lead is an ork of pacific islander decent just like Spiderman.  They great each other warmly as some of the other bikers scowl but keep their cool.  The tribal like markings and trappings they all share make you really feel like this whole place is some post-apocalyptic wasteland.  The bikers seem to have no problem when Jeshua with the help of Walks tries to mount one of the bikes and they seem a lot more understanding of the poor ghoul than you would have given most people credit for.  It makes sense that the people of the barrens are quite used to 'weird" and "scary".  Spiderman just says "Crimson wall near the old factory" and you all take off into the damp night.

After getting dropped near the hole in the Crimson Crush wall , the Blood Mountain Boys along with Spiderman's cousin take off at top speeds which is their primary defense against rivals like the Stilettos.  After crossing through the hole, you hike some more over terrain very familiar to Spiderman and eventually end up at the exit to the alley right across from the Pearl Tongue.  The Neon Naga is lit up but the air around the building is eerily calm and tranquil.  You see Woofer's car parked across the street from the brothel to your left right where it had been left. 

Spiderman hops on his scooter and let's the SMG fall to his back on it's sling and looks at the whole team as he cranks on the moter.  "I'll lead you guys out....keep an eye on you."   This is the first time you've seen him attempt something like a smile.

[inca1980]

@Mercedes:

You tell the group to briefly wait for you as you lead Bessie Mae over to the Pearl Tongue.  You notice the door is unlocked even though B.B. had removed the traces of his tampering and as you walk in to the lobby which is lit and full of fluttering AR dragons just as you had left it, you quickly turn your head back around at a sight you wish you had not seen.  You lead Bessie Mae back down the landing of the entrance and back toward the team.  They notice something strange in you that not even your Kinesics can hide and they ask you what the matter is. 

The carnage associated with gunfights and the occasional manabolt thrown in are quite familiar to you from your time running the shadows......but the sight of a lobby full of the charred remains of all the Peal Tongue's girls was something else entirely.  Like cockroaches crawling with their last little bit of strength to collectively die in the middle of a living room that just got fumigated.  That's basically the treatment those girls received when their hacked personafixes were triggered to self-destruct. 

@Everyone:

Standing there on the sidewalk of the empty Redmond street across from the brothel you all decide it's best to check in with Germaine.  The sun is just beginning to come up, but the news is important enough that you know Germaine won't mind the wake-up call.  He answers in a groggy voice. 

"This better be good news...."

[FastJack]

"Ohayou, Mr. Robinson. We have recovered Jeshua. But there are some ... difficulties."

[inca1980]

"You have him?!! "  Germaine exclaims with excitement.  "Difficulties?  What kind of difficulties?"  The AR icon of the call hovers in the middle of the group, rotating about it's axis with no video feed because this is an audio only call.

[FastJack]

Slipping into her "professional" attitude, Mercedes details what had happened to Jeshua since he went missing as far as they have been able to piece together. She doesn't go into great detail on Spiderman or the gangers, referring to them only as "assets", nor does she go into great detail about Isamu and Olivier's motivations. Basically, she recounts that Jeshua fell under a bad influence and wound up in a dire situation involving vampires and ghouls.

"... as a result, Jeshua has been infected with the Kreiger strain of HMHVV. He's somewhat functional, but he will never be the Jeshua you knew."

Etiquette roll to explain the situation and break the news of his son as delicately as possible. CHA [8] + Etiquette [4] + Kinesics [3] + Improved Ability [2] (17d6.hits(5)=7)

[inca1980]

[OOC: Kinesics doesn't apply for just audio communication, but that's still 6 hits and Germaine's perception is not gonna be enough.]

"Do you have proof of this that I could see right now?  Where are you at this very moment, could you broadcast your gps coordinates to me?"

[Kontact]

"Evidence, okay.  Let 's see. <access recording>"So you want to take this creature people used to call Jeshua back home.  Well I'd say both these boys have learned their lesson that curiosity killed the cat and then from the ashes of that dead cat shall arise a radiant phoenix."  Looking over rather disgustfully at Jeshua he continues. "Well at least Isamu did, but they got what they wanted, I got what I needed.  But that's merely incidental.  The real target who i've had my eyes on for quite some time now is soon going to learn the lesson of a lifetime."  Olivier pauses and closes his eyes again.

 "Germaine Robinson is about to get the wake-up call he always needed to get but nobody got around to doing it, and you, my friends, were hired to be the messengers.  You were hired to take this shell of an elf back to his fathers doorstep.  Then Germaine Robinson would learn the true cost of reckless ambition and would be set upon a journey towards redemption."</recording> So, you were targeted through your son by an unhinged vampire, who went on to learn a valuable lesson about antagonizing a jumpy guy armed with military weaponry.  As seen here <access recording>*Submachine gun purrs out bullets*  *Oliver falls to the ground in a bloody heap*  *Brian vaults the seats jabs the bloodied body with a taser*</recording>"

[inca1980]

As you initiate the video channel you are all of a sudden able to see Germaine's elven face right next to the call ARO icon floating in the middle of the group.  His face remains stern but his eyes visibly widen as he looks at the video images that B.B. sent him.  When he is done viewing them you see him look down in an expression of vulnerability you have yet to see from the regional manager.  After a brief silence he looks up again with his usual controlled expression. 

"I'm ready to deposit to your account the other half of your compensation.  I must thank you for finally finding an answer to my problem just when it was needed most.  However...."

He pauses for a moment and just from the look in his eyes you feel like you already know what he's going to say.  If he would just play straight like a real Mr. Johnson knows how to, then this whole thing could be so cut and dry.  But how could he.  He's one of those system execs....the ones who live and die by the system because that's all they think exists.  Not much of a pragmatist like every corporate Johnson that has any sense has gotta be.

"... that creature right there is no longer my son.  Like that the boy is no longer of any use to me and is just a liability and a danger to those around him.  He is beyond salvation and this is really what is best.  Dispose of the creature so that no one ever even knew it existed, and when that's done, I will transfer the 50,000¥.  I need to know for sure that you got rid of every last trace of that thing and you will forever keep your silence about this whole affair....I trust none of this should be a problem. "

[Kontact]

"Phew.  I been worried someone might actually learn a lesson from this whole thing.  Glad we dodged that bullet.  Speaking of which..."  B.B. turned to face Jeshua.  "Daddy says you have no more value to him, slugger.  He doesn't care about advances in treatment or about recent pushes toward citizenship for infected.  He can't even be bothered to use you to further his career through politicking or fear-mongering.  I know, what you're thinking little guy.  It's that kind of limited vision that keeps people from moving into executive positions.  I agree, it is a sad situation.  Now watch the birdy, Jeshua.  Here comes the flash."  Brian cut the matrix feed with a thought.

"What I tell you.  'Give me your GPS coordinates.  Murder my son.'  This part of the business makes my balls hurt.  Call the dude back if you want, but I'm gonna go get gacked with Spiderman.  I got it in me to do some highly illegal shit right now.  Be in touch in a few days.  I.. I just can't be here when you talk to that clown."

With that, Brian walked off toward the Ork waiting by the scooter, holding a little baggie and intermittently flicking it with his finger.  In the distance you hear, "Yo, Spiderman.  You remember that regeneration trick the kid pulled back there?  I actually know a lot about regeneration, on account of my missing hand.  Turns out that magic healing can take care of a cut tendon or a sliced up eyeball, but it takes regeneration to get back a limb.  Magic's weird like that...  What the fuck am I talking about this for?  Let's get spun."

Meanwhile, happy that his brain was free of the death cloud of Olly's domain, he finished up composing a message to his contact while watching the tail end of a Magical Girl Kotena episode.
<<@Jimmy Locke:  James!  Hope you're alright, man.  I left you something in your other dead drop, but you never got back.  You can put that message out to pasture.  Old news.  As far as recent events, I found Oliver Sannon.  Dude is living off reservation and recruiting young corpsers to join him in his sordid ways.  He's got some serious ideological conflicts to work out, but it seemed like he's trying.  You know how I feel about personal growth.  I am for it.  Anyway, he was still using that tired old symbol of his, hanging on to his old narcissistic past, so spreading it about is probably a good turn.  Hope he learns to see it as such.  It'll force him to reinvent himself a bit.  Speaking of bit, check this out, he's a vampire!  Oooo00o0o0O!   Might want to keep that on the QT.  I think it might be gauche to out a vampire.  I already probably pissed him off a little by shooting him to a bloody pulp and then beating him until he got detached retinas.  To be fair, he had made some pretty poor choices to end up in that situation.  Besides, I was timing my strokes to make sure he had the opportunity to heal between each one, and, wouldn't you know it, he must have regained consciousness enough to turn into mist and float away.  They do that I hear.  Anyway, if you make this info public, I don't want my name attached, but do express my regrets as to how things played out, and that, as I made sure no one touched any of his stuff, I would appreciate if he would not touch any of my stuff, including Officer Steele.>>

[FastJack]

[D'oh! I forgot to hit submit with the post I typed yesterday before leaving work... Ah, well. B.B.'s works ]

Mercedes looks at Jeshua with sad eyes, then turns to Woofer and Walks, "Well? We can't just kill him, can we?"

[Walks Through Walls]

"I don't like the idea of it. Can we maybe fake his death and collect our money?"

[Sludig]

Woofer sighs, "I don't want to either, I contemplated it while Oliver was on his monologue.  The problem will be finding someone who will look after him."