[Csjarrat]

Flea took a running jump at the wall, mentally activating her gecko gloves in mid air as she hit the wall and hauled herself over the ledge and onto the roof. She could see much better from up here and she scorned herself for the rapid retreat off her bike, it lay on its side, the paintwork no doubt scuffed.
She dialled up the image enhancement and tried to spot the bike-psycho

[Siren]

Digging through the man's clothes, Inanna can't help but notice that they are particularly stiff and dirty, probably not washed in several days.  She eventually manages to extract a well-worn Ares Commlink from the unconscious mage, finding it wired to a set of trodes crawling up the back of his neck and attached to various points under his greasy hair. It is flashing with a queue of unchecked messages.  All that is needed is a Matrix-savvy hacker to unlock it.

The highway services contact tries to get more information from you, but is cut off.  Korea has a reputation for fast response times; you figure the sooner you get out of here, the better.



A short time passes and a short message pops up on your commlink.

"Is this a "right now" kind of thing? I can get it to you, but I'll need to ask for a deposit. Call it insurance. 500 nuyen gets you the rental, extra 200 for the rig. 500 for the deposit.  You'll get it back, if you return the thing in good shape. Make the call?"



A cursory glance at the rider shows that he seems to be in distress.  He seems to have ripped the cable tethering him to his bike directly out and is now stumbling away from his bike in a pained daze.



As you and your posse of spirits prepare for battle, you notice the rider suddenly jerk his head back, then frantically grasp at the DNI cable attached to his helmet, janking it free in a spray of sparks.  Recoiling from the pain, he stumbles off his bike in a daze.

[Malevolence]

<< @Whisper [James] It's a "today" kind of thing. A couple hours won't kill us. Do it. >>


James slots one of the credsticks and transfers 1200¥ to Whisper's commcode.


<< @Team [James] Inanna and I are getting us a Bulldog to use while in Seoul. We'll still need a ride to Seoul to pick it up. I'm including our current location so that we can coordinate a meetup.>>
>>Attachment: Current GPS Coordinates

[gilga]

Some of the words in James communication triggered some personalized software on IT's RCC.
<< @Team [Roy Cohen Cohen]  James... your message was marked as important based on its content. Unfortunately, my only suitable ride for you is marked under inspection. The car will. be sent  once it is marked ready.>>

[Siren]

As the situation begins to cool down, your commlink blinks with a new message from a sender you've never met.  The message identifies itself as from Max Blank, an American Ork running a body shop in Jeju.  The message is encrypted with the same signature you were given to contact members of the Temple that hired you.

"Hey, heard you having trouble.  Don't move car, I fix.  Send location."

[Csjarrat]

Sensing her moment, Flea readies her stun baton and leaps from the roof, smacking the dazed rider hard and discharging 50,000V into him.
He twitches and spasms with the current and Flea hits him again to make sure he stays down, another 50,000V coursing through his body for good measure.
She dashed for her bike, hoping the paintwork wasn't too badly damaged from her hasty dismount.
She replied to the temple's security angel by mentally dictating a message as she lifted the bike and mounted it.
//If that was your assist, thank you so fricking much. Anything else out there or am I clear to head in?//

[gilga]

When IT and her spirits arrived, the biker was already laying on the ground. IT could see Flea smacking him, and the biker looked like he had one too many.  She manifested along with her spirits.

 Hey Flea! ...  we wanted to help... but you seem to have this one covered already.
Let's hack the bike, it has a rigger interface that we could definitely use... Do you mind bringing it along?   It may prove useful... if we manage to take control, you could ride it and extend me some marks... if you are chased in the future - I'll be able to drive for you. It will free your hands to so you can fight.

Feel free to message me if you need any spiritual assistance. We are not very far and I can be with you within a few seconds.


Few minutes later in the meat world:

"Hey, heard you having trouble.  Don't move car, I fix.  Send location."

IT forwarded the message to Yako and Sabato.<<Lets get ready to ambush, just in case it is another trick... Sabato I trust you on this one just let us know where to stand.>>

She then sent the following replay:
"<<Sure, I'd appreciate the help... but message us right before you arrive so nobody shoot you. We are all a bit agitated. ..  - location attached. >>"

A bit later she sent the following text to James - << James[IT] Hi handsome! you should both come and join us I am here with Sabato and Yako, it is safer together... I'll let you know when my ride is ready - we had some nasty problems of our own but we seem to be safe right now. Our GPS coordinates are attached. 

PS: What did you do with that mage dude you wanted to transport? I could possibly take a quick astral look to verify that he is what you think he is.

[Malevolence]

James is guiding the vehicle through traffic when he gets a notification that the Bulldog has been reserved, and is on its way to rendezvous with them. He is looking for a good location mid-way between their current position and Seoul when he gets a message from IT. He diverts the Bulldog to the coordinates she gave him and sets his nav to them as well.


<< IT [James] On our way. I have the Bulldog we rented inbound there as well. We'll transfer to it once there and then send our current rental back - I don't trust it to be bug free. The Bulldog I trust, but you can give it a once over as well if you prefer. >>
<< As for the mage, we put him in the trunk - unconscious or dead, I'm not sure. Locations for us and for the Bulldog are attached for your reference. I can't get you marks on it unfortunately as I'm only renting it. >>
>> Attachment: Link to ARO (My Location - Live)
>> Attachment: Link to ARO (Device [Bulldog Rental] Location - Live)


He forwards the exchange to Inanna so she's aware of his plans, and then focuses back on the road.

[Siren]

"Didn't see that one coming, did he?  Sprites are a bitch.  You should be clear, we've got a Lynx over you to be extra safe."

The rest of the ride to the temple is uneventful.  As you arrive, a slim female elf sporting a shock of shifting colored fiberoptic hair jogs out to meet up with you as you park. She speaks in native English.

"I'm Eun Ju, glad to see you made it unharmed.  That bike was trouble, you should have seen what it was packing.  You need to follow me; if you're wondering how those guys caught onto your team, I think I have some answers."

She jogs excitedly back to the open old-style gate of the temple.  As you pass through, you note the that old fashioned designs are anachronistic in appearance only.  Numerous scanners and drone defenses lay both openly and hidden amongst the grounds of the holy site.  Eun ju passes through an automated sliding door, pausing briefly to allow you through before the door closes and locks itself.

If you had only seen the room you are in, you would never have guessed you were in any sort of religious building at all.  Steel walls, steel table, armored door and a double-sided mirror lay before you.  On the other side of the mirror is a man sitting alone.  He is human, probably around 24-25, exceptionally handsome and not apparently cybered in any way.  He wears the traditional hanbok the rest of your guests wear, but sports a pair of unusual looking restraints around his wrists.

Eun Ju stands before the door leading into the room with her prisoner.

"We found him plugging around our matrix system not long after you guys hit the road.  He's been with us for about 3 weeks now; a transfer from Seoul.  At the time, his credentials checked out, but I've given them a more thorough checking now and a few things just aren't matching up.  I really don't think this guy is one of us.

We let him poke around long enough to see that he was trying to find personal details on recently hired help.  We had to act when he started sending information out.  We haven't been able to determine where or who he sent it to.  Whoever was on the other end apparently knew enough to clean up his mess.  I figured you might want a little time with him."



A few moments pass before the return message.

"OK.  I'll be there soon, I'll send message.  Can you tell me more?  I only know you shot, car broken, temple is freaking out, begged me to help.  Any special problems?  I fix anything, just ask. Many special tools, just need to know what to bring."




Your prisoner does not so much as stir as you head to your new destination.  After about 45 minutes, the Bulldog checks in, just moments before you yourself arrive at IT and Baro's location. 



A message from the Matrix reaches each of you at roughly the same time.

"This is Eun Ju, security for your... uh, employer.  Old news, I know, but we have a leak.  Thankfully, I think we've plugged it.  Got one of your team here with him now.  Just thought you should know."

[gilga]

<< Well the car took a few bullets, but it is a good car and I already fixed what can be fixed using a simple toolkit.  Unless you bring a truck loaded with equipment we might want to delay further fixing to some facility.

I have also discovered something in the engine - a few tracking devices perhaps - I hope nothing more vicious than a tracking devices.   There is one of these babies that I couldn't take out myself - I am only an amateur tough you might have a better luck. You should probably also have a look on the ones we did take out.

[Siren]

>> "Tracker bullet is bad.  If you have jamming, use it.  Bringing tools to break it.  Should bring it to my garage.  I look first."

A few minutes later, a large white van pulls up at your location.  A small baseball sized camera drone circles the van before the door opens. A large, middle-aged ork in oily coveralls hops out.  You notice that one of his hands is clearly cybernetic, as well as his eyes, sticking out in the old fashioned goggle-style.  A white datajack is embedded in his left temple.

He steps over to survey the car, the lenses on his eyes rotating and lighting up in what is probably a scan.

"Bullet holes easy, just body work.  Couple days to get the panels.  Big problem in engine, piston chamber punctured, bad fuel use.  Definitely tracker bullet."

He lumbers over to the back of his van, scanning his palm on a biometric reader and popping the doors open with a bang.  He extracts a large metal toolbox and hauls it over to the damaged car.  He jacks the car up on a few autojacks, then slides under to survey the damage more closely.

"Not bad so far.  Worst damage fixed ok.  Bullet is deep, good you didn't dig for it.  Might have jammed it into chamber."

He slides back out and grunts something in Korean to the toolbox, which pops open, revealing several large recessed compartments.  He presses one with his organic hand and a large box protrudes from the toolbox.  He pops this box open and you see what looks like a multitool, but meant to be mounted on some sort of custom holder.  He removes his cyber hand, replacing it with the multitool and slides back under the car.  You hear mechanical whirring and several high pitch whines, followed by a large pop.  The ork slides back out from under the car holding a small, blackened slug of metal.  He proceeds to take each of the trackers you had already extracted and places the tool on each of them as well.  He appears to only stare at the device, but after a few seconds, each popped with a spray of sparks and the smell of burnt circuitry.

"Need a tow?  It can drive, but best to not use the engine now.  Need a day to fix it like new."

[gilga]

A tow... this is probably a good idea we already have an alternative ride...
thanks you so much for your effort.  This car is very dear to me, definitely saved my life today - and it also needs some professional treatment. If you'll give me your contact details - I'll be  give you a call when I am looking for an upgrade.
 

IT empties the car from her possessions. She gently lay her hand on the trunk and gives her car one last affectionate look. You'll be in good hands darling... You'll drive again...I know you will., she mumbles to herself. There is little one could possibly do to annoy IT, but the car is her weakness   - if you mess with the car you must pay.

[ScytheKnight]

Yako waits by her bike as events unfold, even letting her tail out again with a relieved sigh. She looks calm at first glance, but her occasionally flicking ears and tail betray her nerves.

That... spirit thing could have killed me. I can't be careless like that again, all the extra money I bring in won't help my sister at all if I'm dead.

She shudders a bit at the thought as the repair van pulls up, watching the orc mechanic working with a mixture of fascination and unease at the replacement hand and multitool.

The message of the leak does little the calm her nerves as the bulldog pulls up, she rearranges her armor to fit her tail and settles the helmet back on to get ready to ride.

[rednblack]

Inanna and James rendezvous at IT's car, with the Bulldog following on autopilot closely behind.  Inanna gives IT a quick embrace, noting that she's trembling a little, and the group moves the toxic shaman to the back of Bulldog as quickly as possible, and pile inside.  Inanna positions herself over the unconscious body, tazer ready, should he so much as flutter an eyelid. 

#

When they pull into the temple, Inanna approaches the person who looks the most in charge and says, "I hear you've got someone who we can speak with.  We brought our own.  Let's put them in separate rooms.  Don't suppose you happen to have any Mage Cuffs or a Mage hood around do you?  This one's awakened and sicced a toxic spirit on us.  I'm sure you'd rather not have something like that manifesting here."

[gilga]

IT seemed excited when James and Inanna arrived with the bulldog. They were healthy unharmed, it is no trivial thing. They were also tough enough to casually take a live mage in their trunk. IT actually liked her trunk, it was an unusual place to drive a car from, fully enveloped by the car’s body – one of the ideals place for a sneaky mage to work magic from.
That mage was not that bright, he smelled too… but all that was forgotten as Inanna hugged her. She was concerned – it was still a bit of a shock to think about her as a shadow runner, a tough one that can fire a teaser, and patiently watch the smelly mage despite with her ‘dress for success’ clothes… Then again, people are rarely what they seem to be, mainly the charismatic folk.
Her eyes lit up with anticipation as she learned that the bulldog has a rigger interface. True – her control rig made her a weaker mage. She knew that, it also took away part of her soul – whatever that meant… but while her body was very limited and magic was always so painful to channel, driving simply made her feel alive, bring some color to her pale face.
The commlink was another pleasant surprise… you are spoiling me she laughed – so many toys in such a short drive.  There she wanted to do during the drive, hacking the comlink, connecting to the bulldog visiting the cathedral in the astral.
During the ride, she addressed her fellow team mates -
I am asking just to be careful – but does anyone object that I use the drive to visit the cathedral?  I mean we seem to be in a hurry and it would sure simplify stuff if I can discover where they are holding the emissary.