[Jack_Spade]

The storm had broken off large branches and left quite a mess, but had left only superficial damage on the houses. Just as Slobbertooth left, he noticed a few drones had come out to beginn cleaning up.

bnc noticed the same thing via AR - including a flying drone with the Lonestar logo that had begun once more to circle around the island.
Wilcox had left the bathroom and now entered the living room:
"Oh, I thought I heard the front door. Would you care for a breakfast?"

Meanwhile Slobbertooth had reached the ferry. It would depart in 10 minutes. The next one was scheduled for half an hour after that.
The storm had cleaned the air and beside the cawing of the seagulls it was quite peaceful.

[Volker]

It took bnc a short while before she put herself back together and left her bed, still in her underwear, but wrapped into the blanket from head to heel.
"I would. Do you have some synthahol or something?"

bnc sighs, but decides not to give him time to ask any uncomfortable questions.
"Sir. Are you aware that you are under surveillance? And I don't mean Lonestar but some serious dicks.
"Do you recognize this sign?"
bnc sends him an image file, recreating the Raven mark.

[Jack_Spade]

Wilcox frowned:
"The bar is over there - bit early for that, don't you think? Or are you one of those German fellows who drink beer for breakfast with white sausages?"

He looked at the symbol: "They bugged me? Hell, what are the boys doing. Jimmy assured me that the sensors couldn't be hacked. Just goes to show...
Anyway, no. Never seen that symbol before. Hm. Now that I look at it - that could be Hugin and Munin, thought and memory, Odin's pet spys.
Thanks for the warning. I think I'll have to up my security."

[Volker]

bnc makes a face at his comment. "I'm Austrian, not German. And I'm desperately in need of a drink, independend from my nationality." She helps herself to a good cup of soykaf and pours some vodka in it. Or synthahol. Or anything else that makes it more bearable to be bnc.

"Your sensors definitely are hackable. Who are Hugin and Munin? Who is Odin? We need to know."
After a short pause, she adds: "Please"

There's another question that comes to her mind. "That Jimmy... How much do you trust him?"

[Sabato Kuroi]

Torrent exited  Wilcox's house a few moments after Slobbertooth.He left quietly and without notice.He wandered aimlessly through the streets.

@bnc:<<come pick me up when you're done.I was struggling to keep my eyes open and my disguise was in jeopardy.Please hurry I'm starving!>>

[Jack_Spade]

Wilcox shook his head: "Jimmy is one of those computer jockeys from special operations. Told me if I subscribed for Level 8 security no-one would ever be able to get electronically into my house if I didn't want it. He wouldn't lie to me.

You don't know about Odin? Norse mythology, head god of the Aesir. His ravens were his spies telling him about everything that happened in the world. What are they teaching you kids in school today?

Nevermind. If anyone understands the need for a little pick-me up in the morning it's me. The trick is to only drink really pure alcohol so your hangover isn't getting worse."

He turned around and opened a cupboard and took out a clear bottle without label. He filled a glas two fingers full of the clear liquid and gave it to her: "Tripple distilled and filtered. Best Wodka you'll get around here."

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth boarded the ferry without much hassle. He probably stood out considering the usual passengers on the ferry, but his tusks made him do that most days.

He put in his earbuds, and turned on some music for the trip back to the mainland.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Krestov was torn.  He did not feel that anyone in the party should be left alone, and for a different reason with each.  bnc would be helpless if threatened physically.  Torrent would be difficult to keep track of if left out of sight.  And Slobbertooth...often found himself in enough trouble to warrant a backup.  But here, all three were separating...bnc remaining with the detective, Torrent off wandering, and Slobbertooth driven on his mission.  And some unknown entity that is aware of their pursuits.

And so he had to make a decision.  And he chose to stay.

Standing outside the detective's home, he wanted to make sure the whole team made it back to Seattle proper, and made a quick note to the team to let them know his intentions.

[Volker]

"<@Torrent <Yeah, sure, I'll just have a drink with detective Wilcox and I'm sure that Krestov will prevent me from dating our third contact. ;-P >>"

"Ah, thanks, detective. This is way better than synthahol. Haven't had a proper drink in ages. I assume it's a faux-pas to mix it with soykaf, isn't it?
"So, you are sure to trust this lad? I mean, even I am capable of hacking these sensors. I don't want to say that I don't understand my business, but I haven't even finished school and can rape your appartment if I want. If I were you, that would make me suspicious. So you don't think he might have been bought in or something?

God, Jeez, of course I know that Odin. And a hell of another folks from Norse mythology. Or Greek, or Celtic, or Hindu. I just had someone more worldly in mind, when I asked you whether you know someone who uses this sign."

With a sigh of relief, she empties the glass. "Thanks for the drink, the bed and the talks, detective Wilcox. Fare thee well, oh dweller in the stories of the past."

She bows, then turns to Krestov and leaves to join Torrent in his hunt for food.

[Jack_Spade]

"Do as you must. I don't judge - at least not when it comes to alcohol.
I sure as hell will call Jimmy and have a stern word with him. I might give you a call for a second opinion.
Sorry no, no-one comes to mind. But I never had much to do with that matrix stuff.

Good bye. If you get to the bottom of this I'd be quite interested in the story. Come over and we can have a BBBQ. The extra B stands for booze."

The rest of the team made it just in time to get onto the ferry before it ventured back to the mainland. The air was clear and the sea calm once more.

The ferry was just docking as Slobbertooth received a message from an unknown code that likely belonged to a burner link:
<<Drop this investigation if you value your and your friends life. This is the only warning.>>

[Volker]

bnc nods sternly. "Be a friend and record the conversation with Jimmy. I'd be very interested in his reaction."
She waves Wilcox farewell and joins her party.

When they are safely in the ferry, bnc asks the group, especially Slob: "So, sempais. What's next? One interview or another, n'est-ce pas? There'd be a lot of interesting things I'd like to hear."

We're on the same ferry as Slobbertooth now, aren't we?

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth chuckled at the commlink message. He sent a response to the dead commlink.

<<Don't show your face if you value yours.

Also it's either "friend's" or "friends'." You've left your threat awfully vague.>>

And then sent a message to the rest of the team

<<@Team
>In a shocking turn of events, my friends and family have been threatened because we've begun this investigation.>>

[Sabato Kuroi]

@team:<<So...what's next?Not another pajama party I hope.>>

[Volker]

Set Databomb (or similar mechanism): 15d6t5 5
Checking for foreign marks: 4#11d6t5 2 4 5 5

bnc frowns. "Would you mind inviting me to mark your commlink? I don't assume that I can find out who sent the missage, but there's nothing lost if I try."
Regardless of whether or not Slobbertooth actually invites her or she has to get the mark herself, she tries to trace down the icon that sent the message. When the attempt shows to be futile, she sighs in exasperation. "Nothing to be done here...
Wait a second."
bnc quickly checks all her teammates' commlinks. When she can be sure that none of them is marked, she quickly types a message, then joins the team channel again.
<@Gordon Wilcox <Please don't contact Rainier. We might reconsider.>>
"No. Not another pyjama party, if you ask my advice. It's not surprising that we are being threatened. What is ... suspicious is the timing. I would suggest we keep a low profile and slow down the investigation. And here is why:
Unsurprisingly, the death of Mr. and Mrs. Willows has been investigated by Lonestar. Shortly after, key information on the case was closed by Edmont Verres, then Lonestar chief.
Someone put a mark on Wilcox' sensors that hasn't been there before we approached him. This means, that either Scary gave us away, or Wilcox has been watched. Although in this swarm of drones, it's hard to tell whether one more observation drone was there, or not, but we know of one company that sure as hell observed Wilcox, and well: Lonestar. A whole bunch of megapulses of data of our faces has been processed from the very moment we set foot on the island. Minutes later, the marks appear - on a system that, as Wilcox said himself - should have been waterproof. This means, that there was either a professional decker (which we cannot prove or disprove for sure) or someone was invited to the marks - by the Lonestar spider, for example. We then left the island and I think it is safe to assume that we would have noticed if we had been followed by a runner team or something of the like. Still, they knew the exact moment when the ferry arrived - which supports my hypothesis that we are under Lonestar observation.

If I am right - which I might no be, green as I am - the murders have been performed or at least ordered by someone high in the Lonestar hierarchy. Lonestar is not a company I want to cross easily. I'm not saying I want to draw back. I am saying that we should move extra careful, keep a low profile and let, as we put it in Austria, grass grow over matters. I opt for heaving a good breakfast and wait. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox' murderers have not been found for years. They can wait another week.

I already cancelled the meeting with Phil Rainier, who is still working for Lonestar. And I think we should warn Detective Wilcox. If I'm right, he's in great danger, and we're responsible for it.
What do you say, sempais?

[Volker]

bnc pauses, the continues.
"So, from here we could go into two directions. One is to investigate Edmont Verres. But I think, as long as we cannot be sure that I'm utterly wrong, this would be a very dangerous move.
Then there is Benjamin Thorin who became bastante grande rich after Mr. and Mrs. Willows deaths. If we wait a couple of days, we could investigate the powerplant that was closed two days after the incident. Anyway, I will do some research. Except for the direct connection of the temporal proximity between the deed and Thorin's rise, there are more small indications of him being involved. One is that we assume that somebody Awakened has been involved and my research showed that rumors say that Thorin's children might have some magical talent. Another one, even thinner, is that the name Thorin can be vaguely related to two things: Firstly, a character from a centuries old book, The Hobbit, by Tolkien who is the one responsible that you guys are called elves and orks and trolls. But secondly, the name has at least phonological proximity to Thor who, after Odin, is one of the most important Asen, or as you say in English ... wait ... Æsir; a god of the Norse mythology, and son to Odin. So there could be a link, since the decker displayed a mark of two ravens which could be, according to Wilcox, Hugin and Munin, servants of Odin. So, maybe this is a jeu-de-mots. It's plausibel that Thor become something like a nickname for Thorin.

But, of course, it could just be accident, and the Hugin-and-Munin mark belongs to a Nazi decker. After all, Nazis are the only group that is both racist and attached to Norse mythology. I just don't believe in chance, and I don't think there truly is a racist motive behind these murders."