[SgtBoomCloud]

The human Arc paused, mulling over Marco's idea, tapping her forehead as she thought through the variables, seeing the outcomes.  "...aight, we can give that a try, but we will need to do something about the guards that need replacing.  Something that won't point fingers to us.  If you think you can work that out, Marco, I leave it to you to come up with that.  Work with Bootstrap, he specializes with distractions, and as a bonus he's here right now."

Arc was about to say more before she was cut off, the clear notes of a saxophone being played distracting her from her thoughts. She turned to see that it was Firefly, not Yelena, who was playing this time, and this gave her pause.  Well...can see that those two will be getting along that's fo sho  She thought idly as she gave a little chuckle and shook her head.

The knife was news to her, though....Vory?  The fragging Vory got in contact with Yelena?  Tch...concern showed on the rigger's persona as she stared directly into Yelena's face until the Russian made eye contact.  All nonverbals and body language gave the impression of "what the frag are you up to, Yelena?"

[gilga]

To Bootstrap "Bootstrap? Are you there buddy?... You are awfully quiet.

I was thinking a physical mask augmented by mundane impersonation, and perhaps some mundane disguises. The most subtle the better in my opinion... what do you think?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena catches the look from her Srui and nods her head.  The non-verbal words are clear.  She has had no chance to adequately explain Niki and is still unsure how to do that.  More importantly, she has no idea how to explain the Vory to someone who has never been there.  Arc could come close because of her ties to the Howlers, but Yelena knows that association was pretty much involuntary and painful for the short human.  Her own experiences with the Vory were so much different.  She had gone to them, worked her way into the group and loved her place there.  The Vory was her family and she had sworn oaths that she cannot forget, even after years of separation.  At some point Yelena will have to explain what has happened, but right now she does not even know enough to say much.

[Shaman_Yuri]

I can feel my face heat up at the praise Razorgirl is giving me.  I the sun is setting as we speak and I need to perform my duty to Allah, but things are going so well right now.  Would Allah bless me with this opportunity and expect me to pass it up?  Is this a test?

Pushing aside my apprehension I hand off the sax and take the knife from the elf's hands.  I turn it this way and that in my hands, noting the jack access.  "So, you think there's data on it?  Is that what you're after?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena nods.  Yes.  Is what think.  Yelena ask Vory man for information on club.  He leave this.  Once could decode, but lost equipment long ago.  Firefly can do?"

[Shaman_Yuri]

Vory.  I've dealt with organized crime before.  A lot.  Obviously now since I'm in bed with the Yak, but when I worked for Renraku I was often called upon to deal with tech from the Triad, Yak, Mafia, and yes, even the Vory.  The Vory and Triad could be particularly nasty with their defenses, second only to Aztlan and their corporate masters.  Objects were known to have cerebral bombs set up to detonate immediately upon access.  I would have to be careful.

First I sit myself down on a nearby couch since I expect to be going limp very soon.  Just to be sure, I connect into my Metalink comm and try jacking into the dagger that way first.  If there was an access trap, I'd trip it that way and lose nothing more than a cheap throw away comm.  No fried tech, but as expected I immediately encounter security blocks.  Rather than risk setting off the device to auto wipe its contents, I back out.

Next I take the hair-thin cable from my right wrist and jack into my little Erika.  Booting up the device and setting firewall as my top attribute to start, I connect the device by wire to the dagger.  Taking every precaution to ensure the way was safe for me to go from AR to VR, I drop into the connection myself, leaving my meat body behind.

Computer (making sure the dagger is safe for VR): 12d6t5: 5 [12d6t5=3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 2, 3, 3, 1, 5, 2]

With the way safe, I make sleaze my highest attribute and firewall my second and weave my way through the security algorithms to get my marks on the device.

Hacking (Mark #1): 12d6t5: 3 [12d6t5=4, 5, 1, 6, 3, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 3, 5]
Hacking (Mark #2): 12d6t5: 2 [12d6t5=4, 5, 2, 4, 4, 2, 6, 2, 2, 1, 4, 1]
Hacking (Mark #3): 12d6t5: 4 [12d6t5=3, 2, 5, 2, 4, 2, 1, 5, 6, 1, 5, 4]
Hacking (re-attempt if needed): 12d6t5: 6 [12d6t5=2, 6, 3, 6, 3, 6, 3, 6, 3, 1, 6, 5]

No glitches.  Since I'm not on the Matrix, I have no fear of GOD.  I can keep trying if any of these failed.  I rolled one re-attempt just in case to show I didn't glitch.  best roll of the bunch. :-)

Now that the device is mine I deactivate all security and encryption, leaving the dagger's data open to Yelena's inspection. 

Hacking: Crack file: 12d6t5: 3 [12d6t5=2, 4, 6, 1, 2, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2, 4, 5]

Just to be sure the data isn't lost later, I make a copy of the contents and save it in my Erika's memory.  With everything looking good, I jack out and start to rouse my body again.

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena watches the girl.  She has seen enough to know that the slack body means that she is deep into the trix universe.  The entire process of what she is doing is just too strange for her to contemplate, but she is interested enough to watch another professional at work.

[Shaman_Yuri]

I awaken to a face framed in white watching me with apparent interest.  Unsure how to interpret the expression from the tall woman's bright eyes, I straighten myself up.  After disconnecting myself from the dagger my now free right hand self-consciously checks to be sure my hijab is settled right.

"Um," I stumble again over my words, you should be able to get whatever you want off this now."  I lift up my left hand to Razorgirl to hand back the dagger.  "I cleared off all encryption and security.  I didn't open the files, but the checksums all add up.  The data seems uncorrupted and complete."  As she takes the dagger from my hand, I try to look professional by placing both my hands in my lap.  "If you want to use it, I can set you up as the owner like it was new."

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena looks at the girl with curiosity.  She had just completed a complex operation in a very short time.  She smiles and says, "Yes.  Yelena like.  Please."  She offers the haft of the dagger to the decker.

[Shaman_Yuri]

I'd left root access open to my icon when I had finished with the dagger, so returning to the base settings was no effort.  First I confirm my exact ghost of the device remains intact on my Erika.  That ensured, using my deck  just in AR mode I secure the data files on the dagger in a separate partition and perform a factory refresh on the rest of the device.  I comb the device to ensure there is nothing there that doesn't belong on a factory fresh system other than the data files.  I then bring the data back into the primary partition and remove the temporary one.  With everything look right, I disconnect again from the blade and hand it back.

"It should be good as new except for the extra data files.  You should be able to configure it for yourself now just as if you got it fresh from Ares."

[Mercy Merchant]

"And Yelena can read data easy?  Yelena thank Firefly."  Yelena takes the dagger and sits on the couch next to Firefly and starts looking at what Niki had left her.

[Shaman_Yuri]

With the lull before the the meeting, I finally can give Allah His due.  It's right around sunset, so I'm still good.  Seeing that Razorgirl is preoccupied with examining the dagger, I rise from the sofa and join Bootstrap looking at the two holos.  "Um, Metalgirl?"  Once again my face is on fire with embarrassment.  "Is there somewhere...er...private where I can spend ten minutes before we get started?"  My left hand fingers my hijab in nervous emphasis.  "I have some personal business I must attend to right now."

[ismilealot]

@ Marco  When Marco tells Ginny she's leaving for a job she's stunned. He hadn't so much as looked at her. And now he's mindlinked with her to tell her he doesn't want her there. He'll pay for an apartment for her. The shock is overwhelming, and one fact keeps ringing over and over in her mind. He doesn't want her. With him she'd felt beautiful, sensual, desired and alive for the first time in her life. She wanted him. Needed him. But he doesn't want her. All of Brians taunts came crashing back at her. Replayed in absolutely perfect quality thanks to her perfect recall. She almost begs him to take her, but he doesn't want her. Think of the rats. Yes, the rats. She'd been a toddler, and her babysitters son had loved putting his pet rats on her when no one was looking. Loved seeing her scream. Loved her tears. And she'd known it, understood it even at that young age. And she'd fought hard to control her face. Control her fears. And now, anytime she needed to control herself she remembered the rats. It's what had gotten her through her times with Sven. She'd been 15. He'd been 55. And he'd promised her a research project worthy of a fellowship. And he'd delivered. And she'd had to deliver. The alcohol he snuck her had helped too. But, mostly it was the rats. She'd remember them when he'd cursed her because he was limp just seconds after her mouth had come off of him. Remembered them when he was finally between her legs and she was hoping he'd stay hard long enough to finally be done. Remembered them when he'd fondle her while teaching her the algorithms and codes she needed. The ones that formed the basis of the work she'd explored and brought to fruition with Brian. Remember the rats. She smiles at Marco, not trusting the mindlink to not reveal to much and tells him. "No, it's ok Marco. I understand. You've spent to much already. I'll call my father. Tell him about Sebastian and ask him for enough money to come home. I know he'll take me on as a research assistant. I'll be fine." She turns and almost runs to the room Marco had given her and closes the door. The pain is so intense she's almost doubled over. And once the door is firmly shut she cries, deeply and silently. Mustn't wake daddy. daddy would be mad if he got woken up because Ginny was screaming. Daddy would punish her if Ginny was screaming and crying. She'd always been thankful no one ever knew when she cried. Thanks to the rats and daddy. And over and over and over one fact kept ringing through her mind. He doesn't want me.

[ismilealot]

@ Marco  Bootstrap straightens up, "I can make good distractions! Sight 'n sound! I do it all the time!" He looks at Arc, grateful that she's noticed him and recommeneded him. And then he looks at Marco and grins. "You tell me what you want 'n I kin make it!"

@ Subaru  The knife gives up it's secrets begrudgingly, every new piece of info coded differently. But finally it's all yours. And once it's yours you give it to Yelena who reads the info and can translate it. >>Black sheep jump fences. Sheer their own wool. Mate with pigs. Keep secrets. Now it is time for another's sheers.<<  And then the info begins to show maps. And pictures of faces, and schedules. Info she will need for an assassination. Correction assassinations. She watches. Most of the faces are unknown to her unknown except forTsina's. Wait! She hurries to pause the data. That one! That one she recognizes! That one set fire to the bodies of five of the Vory during the raid that had destroyed her life and her family. They'd been shot, but were still alive. He'd opened several lethal little cocktails to pour them on their bodies and then had lit the match. That one she remembered, no matter the years and the expensive suit.

[gilga]

He tells bootstrap send me pictures of their guards and try to understand their schedule. I have some thing I need to fix right now.  I'll go over the pictures, the videos the background checks anything you have on as many of these gangers I need to know as much so I can impersonate them reliably. The rest will be simple just to look the part. I have something to take care of feel free to text me what you need.


Marco opens the door and enter Ginny’s room. “It is alright” He embraces her. “Let it all out” He say. “I want to do that for you, I do not want you like this, desperate weak and using your sexuality as an asset to be sold. I want to know the brilliant lady with poor life choices that I met yesterday.  The idealist that did not want to make weapons.”

He sighs  “I did not mean to whore you or to sleep with you. You were weak and I took advantage of you and I am sorry. You need a lot of help, allow me to help you. I am sure you will get on your feet as you are brilliant. I couldn’t build a life for myself without people helping me  That German lady I showed you. Without her I had nothing - but she took advantage of me. I do not want to do the same to you.
   
It will get better and you will find your place in Seattle and will not need me. I am not sure if you will still be interested in me. As I am not educated and you’ll probably prefer someone more intellectually stimulating. But if you do want me once you are independent, I will give it a chance. Before that, I afraid we cannot be more than friends. I will not be that person - but I do want your friendship, and friends help each other. Is my friendship worth nothing unless we sleep together? Am I nothing but a good fuck for you?