[ismilealot]

@ Yelena  >>Wanderer, usual fee of $100 for info charged to Virtual Goddess. Your contact is Raptor ML44541JK23649. <<

@ Masquerade  You receive a message from Faux Paw, >>I've given your Raptor persona's contact info to a runner by the name of Wanderer. She needs gang info for a hit. If you can help her it'll give you a contact with a runner who's familiar with and has contacts with quite a few gangs here & in Europe. Impress. <<

[SgtBoomCloud]

<<@Arc [Duckdown] It's a cold world girl. Aint no thing. I'm bout to put these last two up, head home and get some sleep. Holler at me in the morning, wiz?>>

<<@Duckdown: wiz, appreciate all the help, homie.  You need anything holler at me.  Get some rest

And with that, she finished off and gathered up the rest of the rigs, stowing them into her car when a few more messages popped up, from Micah and her parts supplier.  "...well frag.  Totally forgot about that drek...". Glancing at the damaged fender, she did a quick survey of the damage, and how she was gonna fix it, and then sent off her reply

@Micah: yeah, I can have that ready for you by tomorrow.  Have to rework and replace a bit of the front, but nothing serious.  ¥130 will be your total, and I can guarantee a Corp garage would charge double.

With that, she sent off an acknowledgement of her parts before closing up shop and leaving, setting up the last of the boxes...most notably at the location Raven gave her.  She got a chill as she set it up, and wasted no time leaving the place.  Her next stop? Picking up those parts, which she signed for without a word, wanting to get back to her garage as soon as possible...but not before hitting up a local convenience store and purchasing that ¥4 black pill known as Long Haul.

Getting home, she stared at the pill apprehensively before finally popping it into her mouth, sterling herself for the next four days as she got to work.  As she heated and reshaped the parts of the car, she activated her surveillance grid, a massive ARO displaying images and readings throughout the hood before her.  Setting up the ping system, she resumed her work, going tirelessly through the night.

The Next Morning

By the time the morning hit, the car was all fixed, not a scratch on her, the short human eating a bowl of soy noodles and staring at the displays, monitoring.  She was only interrupted by a message popping into her display...

<Arc.  Olena.  I need to see you.  It is important.  Scorp is still making noise, but need to talk to you about Howlers and these murders.  I am headed your place.  Is alright or should meet elsewhere?

..the frag?  The hell  does she want with these murders?  Drek.  Drek.  Ancients hitgirl... thinks I'm Howler...FRAG!

Frantic, Arc took a moment to calm herself, breathing before deciding a course of action, strapping on her nade  pouch and sending a reply.

<<@Olena: I am at my garage now.  I can meet.  No funny business?  See you soon

<<@Duckdown:  sax player coming to my place.  If see a boom in the Barrens you can have my car.  Peace, Skraa'Cha

[Poindexter]

Duckdown was awakened early by a message on his emergency setting.

<<@Duckdown [Arc]  sax player coming to my place.  If see a boom in the Barrens you can have my car.  Peace, Skraa'Cha>>[/color]

In seconds, the skinny ork had thrown off the thermal blanket and erupted into the world rapidly clothing, armoring, and arming his naked body as he ran. The advantage of not owning drek was that you can grab everything you own and haul ass to protect an ally in seconds. Fuck the cops. They dont wanna stop a trog in the rain, and if they do, they can't catch me. I run these streets. Head down, Duck pounds pavement as hard as he can, in an attempt to get to Arc's garage before the muscle does.

[Triskavanski]

To Johnny << Ya, I getcha. Just needed ta tidy up the place, ya know? Every thing is set, come and meet me at.. (Pizza Location) >>

then turning her attention away from that, she stands out of the building holding her pistol. Her breathing slows to a crawl as the raven fires off a shot towards the unsuspecting target. A capsule bullet filled with NarcoJet.

shooting unsuspecting target: 9d6t5 1
2 points of damage from the gun, 15 stun damage from nacrojet.

[Csjarrat]

Feathers smiled as the official message came over the comm and mentally dictated a reply.
//Good to hear from you, yes, that is accurate. Could we arrange a VR meet later this afternoon to talk in greater detail?//

Seeing Arc's rapid reply he smiled for the first time today
//That's fantastic news, cheered me up at any rate. I'm pretty confident on the ritual, spent most of yesterday sweating buckets with the prof and feel like i've got it down pretty well. I've been able to rally a couple more mages from the safehouse and The Howlers are onboard now they know we're genuine and what we're up against. We pissed it off though, it felt us scouting it out so stay alert. You want a hand with placing those boxes?//

[ismilealot]

@ Masquerade  Jimma's body jumps with the hit, and her hand clutches at her upper arm. Drek, missed the neck. NarcoJet right into that carotid would have had her out faster than she could turn around. As it is she is definitely turning, and shaking her head trying to clear it. You see her stumbling towards the backdoor trying to make it back inside. Her head is bobbing like an antique bobblehead toy. Your dad had a few of those old things. Toys his father had had when he was a boy. They were in a case with some other stuff you don't know what happened to. But, no time to think about that. If she gets back inside this operation is blown. She reaches the door, but the handle is heavy, and the door is heavier. As you watch she slowly slides down. One last feeble attempt to knock on the door is all she's got left before she is out.

[Triskavanski]

Masquerade whews gently to herself. It would have been a bad day if she had to hit that target multiple times. Last thing she wanted to do was kill the poor girl, and with a double dosage of the strong neruotoxin, she might have.

All she wanted to do was borrow the girls face for a bit.. Moving closer she stops as she gets closer to the body.. Oh man what a rookie mistake she was almost about to make. the DMSO was still splattered on the girls arm, and slipping on Jimma's cloths would have surely knocked her out. Well, crap, what to do.

She glances around for a hose as she carefully moves the Pizza girl back into the save location, before binding and gagging her with what binds she had available and searching her pockets. The next thing to do was the light up a cigarette, She had to be quick...

Not finding a hose, she strips down the pizza girl, careful not to get the apron touched by that stuff. That was the important part, anything else was just peachy. Slipping it over herself, she dresses down and into Jimma's clothing sans the shirt, rubbing the ash of the cigarette into her clothing.. Hopefully the shirts were close enough no one would notice.

Next was the face, her features mophing into the Pizza lady's and quickly followed by a sound check.. She needed to make sure it was perfect...

Diguise as Jimma: 9d6t5 3

And with that she finally goes inside to await her guest. Watching  others again to try and pick up on their skills.

Perception: 8d6t5 3

Bluff: 15d6t5 5

[Imveros]

 Tommy and Johnny were enjoying there walk home now. It was almost peaceful when it was this quiet. Almost made you forget there was a monster on the lose. The silence is broken as Johnny's comlink rings.

<<@Johnny [Don_Simply_Don] Ya, I getcha. Just needed ta tidy up the place, ya know? Every thing is set, come and meet me at.. (2525 NE Park Dr)>>

Well Tommy I'm going to need a rain check on those burgers. I met a person today that had a job for me protecting his pizza shop. He needs to talk a little biz with me before he gives me the gig though. Even I don't get the job at least we will have some pizza tonight. So why don't i get us home double quick, set you up with your homework, and by the time your done i should be back with some grub and hopefully some good news Tommy puts on a pouty face and does a poor job pretending to look sad But but but you promised as his lip quivers. Johnny looks down at Tommy I was born at night, but not last night. Whats this gonna cost me? Tommy's pretend sadness melts away as a mischievous smile crosses his face as he rushes his brother and tries to scurry up his armI swear you didn't used to be this tall he starts to slide down as Johnny grabs him, puts him on his shoulders, and grabs onto his legs. Tommy quickly removes Johnny's hat, puts it on his own head, grabs his brothers horns and yells Giddy up now as he kicks into his brothers shoulders Ow you little varmint, that's where that damn eagle got m... I mean where nothing at all happened... Johnny carries his brother at a decent clip back towards the tenement. The air feels good tonight. Today has been a good day all things considered. Lets hope it stays that way Whoooaaaa there boy Tommy lets out as he jumps from his brothers shoulders at the hab entrance. Here bro, you're going to need this. Good Luck as he throws the hat back to Johnny

Johnny grabs his hat in midair, places it back on his head, and tips it toward Tommy while he heads toward the meet. It was a little farther than he had thought but it looked just grungy enough not to be corp, but clean enough that bugs only made it on the food when he ordered them. If this guy is on the level, and is fighting the same monster, maybe i will get to help Tom and Two-Bit after all Johnny straightens his cloths, opens the door, and strides in looking for this 'Don" 

[ismilealot]

Sat. evening :
@ Masquerade  As you walk in the heat in the kitchen hits you like a force wave. Things are busy with people getting ready for the rush hours. "Jimma, we're going to need to order more sauce tonight. That last batch I opened wasn't fit for a troll. We're going to run out tomorrow if we don't get some more." You hear a bald dwarf say as you walk past. "Jimma, can you handle the register while I go out for a quick break?" You see another boy roll his eyes when the girl at the register says that, and just then your "guest" walks in. He's a little early, and every bit as big & beefy as you remember him. And that hat. He obviously doesn't just wear it to that particular bar. Wow, ok, if he see's himself as a cowboy riding into town, then talking him into this might be easier than you thought. If not, well, there's always the pizza.

@ Johnny  The heat in the restaurant is a nice relief from the cold. And the smells pouring out of those brick ovens remind your stomach quite sharply that it hadn't eaten since morning. You can't keep working like this on short rations. You're already down 2 notches on your belt. You'll have to start adding holes soon if you can't find better paying work.

[Triskavanski]

" Right, we'll get the sauce tomorrow. And what do you mean its not fit for a troll? That stuff is suppose to be frozen.  " she asks trying to act like the girl she took time to observe earlier. It was hard being a mover and shaker trying to organize things. Clapping her hands "Come on people, the rush will be here any moment, and we should be seeing some pizzas made.Marquita, you need to stick the scheduled breaks, as we've talked about before. In the meantime, I've got a new employee to interview"

Turning out of the kitchen to head towards the front where she saw Johnny she waved him over and towards the offices.

[Imveros]

Johnny takes a deep breath of the freshly baked pizzas as his stomach growls fiercely. He removes his hat and walks in the the dining area as he looks around the place looking for Don. Johnny sighs realizing its futile at best. Don doesn't have to look a lick like what he looks like in the real world. Though he wasn't expecting the little woman wearing a t shirt and apron to be the organized crime type. He heads towards the office while glancing toward the name tag and trying to read it slowly J.....i...mm...a, Jimma, ok Johnny stands up tall, head almost touching the ceiling Evening Jimma, or should i call you Don?

[ismilealot]

Sat. afternoon:

Feathers smiled as the official message came over the comm and mentally dictated a reply.
//Good to hear from you, yes, that is accurate. Could we arrange a VR meet later this afternoon to talk in greater detail?//

@ Feathers  The reply is swift. I will be available this afternoon at 17:00 for an AR meet.
Nbungu contacts you again at 13:17 >>I have obtained all the resources for the ritual save the Angel's Tears. Those should be delivered to my shop sometime this evening. The cost prohibited me from obtaining more than one vial. Everything else I have been able to give you 2 full sets of per instructions.<<

Promptly at 17:00 your comm rings. >>Mage Turnstall I have been in the field and have been able to assess the situation. I have begun maneuvering to put things into place to try and avoid a full scale intervention and its associated costs. I should have a professional in place to track and kill the mage tonight. I need to know what resources you are bringing to bear on the beast itself.<<

@ Duck  Late Thurs evening as your placing the last few sensors your comm finally rings with a call from Deen. Her voice has that sleepy gruff sound she has when she's slept off a binge. >>Never figured you for the shiny armor type. Izza good look.<< You hear the sound of her hurling then and the comm hangs up precipitously.

[Triskavanski]

Leading him into the office, she'd shut the door behind them.

"Please, before any of that, have a seat. You're here rather quickly and I didn't have any time really to be ready.. Sitting herself, she looks to him again. "I'll get straight to the point, what I need is for you to protect anther girl, who by no fault of her own, got in way over her head. The ripper is after her now, and she doesn't have much of anywhere to turn to. A small army is gathering already to fight against it, but very few are gathering to actually help her. She's to play the part of bait for the beast.. Your job is basically to keep her from dieing. Simple enough. Survive.. and the person behind it will be worth a lot of money. Fail.. and everyone probably dies. "

[Imveros]

Johnny ducks as he enters the room and hangs his hat on the edge of the desk. He looks down at the offered seat I thought this was an office not a doll house Dont mean any disrespect, but that chair and me, i don't think we would get along too kindly. I'll stand if you don't mind Johnny locks eyes with the woman as she finishes the pitch. I admit you have me interested enough to come out here and listen, but I'm not liking how vague your info is. I've heard 10 different descriptions of this beats today alone. I'd like to know what I'm being asked to go against here. I'd also like to know who I'm going up against it for. This girl got a name? You have a picture perhaps? Once we get that out of the way I think we can discuss what you mean by "a lot of money" over some pizza yeah?

[Csjarrat]

Nbungu contacts you again at 13:17 >>I have obtained all the resources for the ritual save the Angel's Tears. Those should be delivered to my shop sometime this evening. The cost prohibited me from obtaining more than one vial. Everything else I have been able to give you 2 full sets of per instructions.<<

//You're a star, thanks Nbungu. How much are they? might be able to have a whip around for the extra if its not astronomical..//

>>Mage Turnstall I have been in the field and have been able to assess the situation. I have begun maneuvering to put things into place to try and avoid a full scale intervention and its associated costs. I should have a professional in place to track and kill the mage tonight. I need to know what resources you are bringing to bear on the beast itself.<<

Sitting back in his slightly damp smelling room, he idly flicked through the days news with a herbal tea as he waited for the meet. Spot on 5 his music and newsreading was minimised with the incoming AR call.

So far we've got manpower in the form of the local gangs to run patrols and form a strike team once it appears. We're putting in place a sensor net around its lair to help predict its movement and i'm assembling a small team of mages to assist with the ritual or strike teams.
The awful part is that we're reliant on bait to draw it out, a survivor of one of its attacks appears to have been "marked" by it and we believe it will relish her as a challenge. We know it is feeding regularly and we know where its lair is, the worry is that it shouldn't be feeding this often and that it is already more powerful than we can cope with. What intelligence have you got on the mage itself?