[Csjarrat]

he looks at the prof as if to say "I'm too old for this shit" and slumps his shoulders in resignation at the task ahead.
The likely lot he'd seen before didn't strike him as the composed combatants he'd need to finish the job but with any luck, they'd have have the contacts to provide greater manpower to make up for the quality they lacked as a team.Eagle, lend me your strength to overcome this daemon, I'm going to need it
He dictated a reply to the new team, indicating he'd join them for the meet tonight.
He ached and was tired from the day's exhaustion, but time wasn't on their side.
The given timescale of 2 days seemed somehwat ambitious, but with any luck, at the very least they could disrupt and dissuade it from feeding and buy some time before its next cycle.
He finished his stew and bade his goodbyes to the proffessor, swapping comm details before heading down into the village to catch the autobus back into town.
His heart was heavy with foreboding, nothing about this job filled him with confidence at all.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc blinked, remembering what Duck had to say before he passed out in her living room, nodding  in remembrance.

"Aight, we got that meet with Blindside in sum like four hours?" The lack of sleep is starting to become obvious in his posture and tone. He sits down and loosens his vest straps a bit before removing the Ingram from its concealed holster, popping the clip out, and setting it above his head on a shelf mounted near the couch. Then, he lays down, stretches out, groans loudly, and speaks one more line to Arc with his eyes closed before falling asleep. "Get me up in like, three and a half. i can jump up and walk right out the door."

She paused from her recollection for a bit.  Eyes going wide.  Blindside.  He's fragging taking us to the third in command.  Dreeek , this guys has a set  Shaking her head, she pulled up her comm, seeing that the mage they met had replied.

He dictated a reply to the new team, indicating he'd join them for the meet tonight.

Smiling, she actually was surprised that he agreed to come...he didn't seem the type with the...fortitude to handle late night meetups with gangs reputed for violence.  Punching in a response to him to indicate she can run a pickup an hour or so before if needed. she sighed and rubbed her eyes.  Three and half hours...gonna be a long night too.  Alright, probably a good idea..  And with that, she hopped over back to her bed, leaving the door open and drawing her Predator, setting it next to her and shutting off her eyes, her world going black as she slipped into a sleep.

[Redmond Barrens, Seattle, Arcs Garage, 8:55 PM]

With a start and a shout, Arc sat up, her nerves towards the upcoming meets getting the better of her.  Activating her eyes, she breathed heavily and steadied herself.  Giving a sigh, she got up, shutting the door behind her and kicking the couch Duck lay on.  "Hoi, feel better, Skraa'cha?"  she smirked, throwing on her armored vest, the Howler insignia on the back plate easily visible. 

Throwing on a coat over that, she pulled the bag from her trunk and the Ingram from the glove box, working on equipping herself.  Her Predator was concealed at the small of her back, the Ingram going onto a holster under her arm.  Several tools and objects were in the bag, but there were only a few things she needed to withdraw.  A belt that wrapped about her hips went over her cargo pants, an array of pouches hanging on the sides.  Her spare clips of ammo for both guns went to one side, while the other, larger pouch was meant for her toys: four football shaped metal grenades with the pins firmly in place.  Inspecting each one with a grin, she deposited them in the pouch, slamming the bag back into the trunk and closing it.  "Y'all ready, omae?"

[ismilealot]

@ Feathers  The prof looks at you. "Are you walking? I can drive you into the city. It won't just save you the 15 min walk. At this time of day if you miss the bus you're staying overnight. But, if I take you into the city instead of just the town I can have you there in time to catch the fastliner straight into upper Issaquah."

Feathers nods, not only is he tired enough to make the short walk quite a bit longer, shaving over an hour off the trip afterwards will be a welcome relief from the hard seats and bad roads in the Barrens. The walk would have cleared his head a bit, it was pretty country and he'd missed the smell of trees. But he didn't fancy sleeping outside unprepared. The ride into the city is short, only 35 min's, and the prof is mostly quiet, only pointing out the occasional landmark.

[ismilealot]

[Redmond Barrens Friday 19:45]

It's been a long day. The murders have people on edge and snappy. Business as usual in the 'hood has been far more tense, and there are less children on the streets, fewer people in general. The pushers are doing better business, as scared users seek solace in a hit. Talismongers are also seeing a distinct upswing in business from people trying to buy tokens to "ward off the evil eye or whatever it be that be killin' drek." And as night closes in, there are fewer and fewer people out on the streets. By one am only those that have to be, the homeless, the pro's. the pushers who know the need for a hit will have some people out no matter what, and those unfortunate enough to have to be out for work will be out. Normally that's prime time for conducting business, and business will still be conducted. But more of it will be conducted inside, with patrons arriving earlier, and leaving much later than usual. But right now, there are still people out on the street. It's only 19:45, and none of the murders have happened this early, evil has always favored the cover of night.

[Csjarrat]

Thanks, a lift into town would be great
Feathers smiled gratefully, it would save a stack of time and get him off the crowded and stinking buses. First thing he'd splurge some cash on would be a scooter he promised himself.
He got back at a much better time than he'd bargained on thanks to the generous lift and he sat heavily in the plastic chair of the shared kitchen in the safehouse. He didn't quite know how to try to rally the inhabitants, he'd never been the charismatic leader type. He waited for them to pop in for a soycaf and chat to them then...

[Triskavanski]

Masq decided to stay mostly where she was as she waited for the ride from Arc. Meanwhile she quickly sent out a page to Professor Poisons, her contact for the various chemicals she used in her line of work.

<<Professor, I've got a creature I bet none of your poisons will do anything to..>>  she goads him, explaining the details of the creature to him. If she learned one thing in her business, it was always attack the source of someones pride, as they tend to do things for you if you attack it just right.

[ismilealot]

@ Feathers Tommy stops by when he hears you in. He's a water mage, nice sort, quiet and steady. He's dating Marion right now, a shaman who's temper sometimes has him needing a cuppa. "Evening Feathers, thought I'd stop by and see if you're taking the job." He pauses to snag a chair, "So, did you take the job?"

@ Masquerade  "You mean it won't respond to conventional poisons or their method of delivery." he responds smugly.'

[Poindexter]

[Redmond Barrens, Seattle, Arcs Americar, 9:02 PM]

He'd heard a shout from the other room as Arc woke up, but decided maybe he could get another thirty seconds of sleep before she came and woke him up. But, in what had seemed like a fraction of a second later, he felt her kick the couch and ask him something. He wasn't sure exactly what. "I aint burn nothin... what?" He remembers looking at her funny as she wandered around the garage gathering up her equipment. After standing up changing back into his blue jeans, he'd grabbed his Ingram and popped the clip back in. He restrapped his armor vest, tucked the smg snugly away inside it, then threw on two T-shirts with holes in the collars and a thick grey hoodie over the both of them. Clipping his helmet onto his belt, he was ready to go in about two minutes flat.

Now, he sits in the backseat of her car, on the way to meet up with Blindside, a heavy hitter in the gang world. And they're going with their hands out, looking for money. He constructs his plan carefully, as if his life depends on it, in his mind as they drive through the darkening streets. Before they get too close, he starts rolling another spliff for the meet and checks his messages on the Sensei as he does.

<<Message to: Raven, Red, Khali, Arachnid, Feathers, Duckdown
<<Hoi.  So I'm meeting up with the Howlers tonight, following Red's lead and maybe even convincing aid...unlikely, but miracles can happing, eh?  Frag.  I don't expect things to go south, but this IS the Howlers we're talking about, and I would consider it extremely wiz for some support at the meet.   If you're in, the meet is at Midnight tonight at the Skeleton, that bar by Sportsman park east of Touristville.  I can pickup some if need.  Let me know, and come armed.

"Whoa! Just read this message you sent me. Whoa, and a buncha other heads, too!" Duck smiles all tusky from the backseat, finishing off the spliff and starting on a second one. What kinda crew are you puttin together, here Arc? Red, i heard of. She's some kinda face or sum, huh? And forget about 'Rack. He aint comin. Don't ask." A short pause. "Fuck him. Don't ask. But the rest of those names, I don't know." With a mischievous and accusatory tone in his voice, "The fuck are you cookin up here, anyway girl?"



 

[SgtBoomCloud]

[Hwy 203 Northbound, Seattle, Arc's Americar, 9:05 PM]

Behind the wheel of her car, Arc would only give a little grin at the game of rapid-fire 20 questions that the ork was throwing at her.  When they had gotten in, she had protested him sitting in the backseat, claiming that "Y'know, I don't smell THAT bad~", but eventually giving in to the exercise in futility.  When that ork decided to do something, little could dissuade him, he figured.

"Whoa! Just read this message you sent me. Whoa, and a buncha other heads, too!" Duck smiles all tusky from the backseat, finishing off the spliff and starting on a second one. What kinda crew are you puttin together, here Arc? Red, i heard of. She's some kinda face or sum, huh? And forget about 'Rack. He aint comin. Don't ask." A short pause. "Fuck him. Don't ask. But the rest of those names, I don't know." With a mischievous and accusatory tone in his voice, "The fuck are you cookin up here, anyway girl?"

Giving a shrug, she cleared her throat, shifting lanes as they approached their exit off the 203, shifting westward.  "Oh, so you know Red, huh?  Somethin' ya gotta tell me, you all got a breeder on the side, hm?  Fraag, man.  Yeah, she's some kinda talker.  Very hoity-toity, dresses nice enough to be a wageslave, and yeah, good with her words.  Raven you've met.  Frag it, she was Awakened too...can shift her face to all sorts of drek.  Has an in with the gangs apparently, and I can vouch for her.  Mr. Turnstall (Feathers) we ran into at the mojo meet.  Older guy, full-blooded Awakened, and gonna be leadin' the mojo team I told you about earlier.  Khali is a friend of Red's.  Total keeb, Awakened, kitted a lot like 'Rack, very quiet type.  Speakin' of..."  she paused, noting the bit of contempt in his voice.  She knew that the elusive human had picked up his dirtbike from her garage, so she was gonna hold out and hope he surprises them.  "Aight, but yeah.  Bit of an odd crew, I know, but if you've ever dealt drek with the Howlers, omae, you'd understand why I'm callin' for so fraggin' many.  I'll explain why later, aight?"

She shook her head, rounding a corner onto 140th Avenue, a few miles away from Downfall. "We can deal with this drek I'm getting into later, Ducky, but for now, let's focus on your drek.  I dunno how you got a meet set up with Blindside, seeing as he's the recently appointed 3rd in command with the fraggin' Ancients, so I'm just gonna say that you must got your Hez in strong order, eh?" She smirked, shaking her head.  "I'll do what I can to help, but I gotta be real with ya, dawg,  I ain't no face, but I know gangs.  This Blindside. He's gonna be wary cuz he got this promo due to his predecessor getting into a bad meet with a suppliers.  Both parties, muscle included, got geeked somethin' fierce.  So there's a reason I hide my Howler's badge, y'know.  But still, they might know my face, and they will know I ain't got no love for the Howler's.  We should be fine."

Finally, she pulled up outside Downfall, parking the car just outside the bar and killing the engine.  Fifteen minutes early, to be precise.  Perfect...no sense rushing into all this, eh?  Turning, she looked back at Duck, cybernetic eyes gazing cool-ly upon him.  "Aight, this is your meet, so you call the shots.  I'll say whatever piece I think is right, but if you find me doing stupid drek, you have my permission to shut me the frag up, y'hear?"  With a wink, she hopped out of the car, slamming the door and locking up, walking with the ork to the meet point.

[ismilealot]

@ Duck & Arc  You get a call from Lil' Mik 15 min's before the meet. >>Yo Duck, Blindside say he changing the meet. He meet you at the The Market at noon tomorrow.<<

[Tamesh]

Red looks at the storage compartment in her motorcycle with an expression somewhere between confusion and satisfaction. She managed to pick up a menorah from the temple, a little plain but she'd been assured that it had been blessed by a rabbi and ought to do the trick. A tied off plastic bag full of soil from an intersection that's on the borderline of two gang territories and seen all manner of violence over the years ought to be good for as the dirt from an evil crossroads. She's busy looking up local prisons when her comm buzzes.

<<Message to: Raven, Red, Khali, Arachnid, Feathers, Duckdown
<<Hoi.  So I'm meeting up with the Howlers tonight, following Red's lead and maybe even convincing aid...unlikely, but miracles can happing, eh?  Frag.  I don't expect things to go south, but this IS the Howlers we're talking about, and I would consider it extremely wiz for some support at the meet.   If you're in, the meet is at Midnight tonight at the Skeleton, that bar by Sportsman park east of Touristville.  I can pickup some if need.  Let me know, and come armed.

She stares at the screen for a few moments, considering her options. A gang meet-up is the last thing she's interested in, but this IS her lead... Well, it's not going to be fun, but she's sure as not staying this one out. She hammers out a quick reply to Arc.

"I'll be there. Anything I ought to know? I'd hate to show up wearing a rival gang's colors..."

With that, she's off back to her apartment. She probably ought to change and get ready for the meeting. The prison can wait for another day.

[Csjarrat]

Hey Tommy, well I got a job, wasn't the one I thought I was getting though. You hear about those murders down by the bakery?

[ismilealot]

@ Feathers  "Who hasn't. It's got people around here on edge. I mean, life is cheap here in the Barrens, gangs, drugs, you name it. But, the way these happen, bodies on display and that creepy smile. Like someone is leaving a calling card and saying they can't be caught." he shrugs. "And the arrests KE's made are just so obviously bogus. It's a slap in the face. But not even the news is down here trying to make a story. It's like crying out in the streets, "Hey! no one really cares about the SIN'less dying!" he shakes his head. "Oh hey, reason I stopped by is Marion and I are planning on moving in together at the end of the month. That's gonna leave my apartment free and with winter coming I can tell you it'll be warmer than this place. My apartment is right over the boiler room and Laundromat and I can tell you the extra heat matters. It's noisier too, but, it's more kinda like white noise, drowns out the rest of the drek around here. Thought I'd let you know first in case you wanted it."

[Csjarrat]

well that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. It's blood magic. Nbungu and I tracked it back to its lair and I've spent all day learning rituals to pin it in place. Police are weeks away from organising an effort but I'm feeding info to a detective there to help the higher ups with Intel. In the meantime we're organising the defences. We need manpower, mages especially. Can we count you and Marion in?
The strain in his eyes belied how exhausted he was. He poured himself a glass of water and prepared for his response.
and the apartment sounds great. I'll apply for a transfer, thanks for the heads up.

[ismilealot]

@ Feathers  Tommy is just staring at you. You can tell his brain stopped processing at the words blood magic. He blinks three times and swallows. And then his lips move as he unconsciously mouths your words, "Nbungu and I tracked it to it's lair, learning rituals, pin it in place, need help." He blinks twice again and swallows. And mouthes, Blood Magic. And then pauses, his mind obviously reeling. He looks at you, searching your face for signs of joking, or teasing, or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you're not joking. He pauses and takes a deep breath. "What kind of help do you need? I'm a water mage. Marion's a shaman whose familiar is a cat. I'll give you whatever help I can. But, blood magic? What do you really think we can do?"