[Mercy Merchant]

Her return text is quick.  "Yeah, that should do the trick.  Not too fancy, not too dumpy.  You must look amazing in this.  Now that I have seen all of you, I get to imagine taking that off you.  Or in this case, imagining her taking it off you.  Anyway, this looks great.  I am sending in the request for a ticket, but you will need to reply to the return text to transfer the funds for the ticket.  And you will need to do something with your hair, though.  And makeup.  Working on finding out a couple of things you can have in common to talk about.  Perhaps an open relationship?<<

About two minutes later you get an text message from the Save the Child Foundation, thanking you for your interest in this worthwhile cause and requesting a transfer of funds to cover the cost of the dinner.  The transfer code is provided.

[Irn0rchid]

<<Wait a minute, what's wrong with my hair? And my makeup?! Just because I don't wear it all the time doesn't mean I don't know how to put it on... does it?>> "Does it?" she stews in self doubt for a few minutes till the message from the Foundation comes in and promptly makes the donation. "Well that's it for the expense account, plus some. Anything more and I'll have to see about getting some more money from Ni Ni. Not going to get my bills paid at this rate," she frowns. With another message to Robin she tries to cover up her previous doubt with humor, <<So is that what we have now, an open relationship? You wanting to pick up some girls on the side? *grin emoji* As for taking that dress off me, would you like it if I were able to record [wife's name] doing so?>>

What's the wife's name?

[Mercy Merchant]

>>There is nothing wrong with your makeup and hair.......when you take the time to do them.  I have seen you after you put it on when you were going out with, frag, what's his name?  The guy with the long nose?  Before we separated.  You looked good enough to eat and I was insanely jealous of him.  After last night, I do not need to be jealous of anyone.  And it might be something like an open relationship.  I got no one just now but you, but I can live with you doing it.  I guess that is all part of some of the things we need to talk about.  But I am so very glad that you are calling it a relationship.  I know that you cannot see my face, but it has the biggest grin right now.  Your words just make me so hot when you ask if I would like to see her take your dress off.  You would do that for me?  And her name is Elaine.  Elaine Townsend.  And I just hacked the guest list a few minutes ago and she is going stag.  I also looked up some articles about her in the rags and you might be in luck as it appears that she is between relationships just now.  Probably horny as frag.  When you coming home?<<

[Irn0rchid]

<<Uhm... his name was... Nick? I think. That seems like so long ago, but was what, 6 years? Regardless, okay, I get it, I should make the effort more often. And of course I'd do that for you. It was you sharing your desires that got us here, seems it would behoove me to figure out what else you desire, wouldn't it? As for when I'm coming home, is now soon enough?>> Rose pulls into the garage as she sends the response to Robin.

[Mercy Merchant]

Robin is waiting for you at the door from the garage.  "I could care less whether you have your hair done or are wearing makeup.  I adore you the way you are, in whatever way you want to be.  I have lusted after you for years.  My heart was empty when we split up.  I was overjoyed beyond measure when we got back together.  I was a coward until last night, secretly wanting you but afraid to lose you if I said anything.  So, you can wear what you want and look like you want and I will still lust after you."  She waves her hands a bit and blushes.  "There, I had to say it, and now it is said.  We can discuss our lives together when we have some free time.  What is our play for this job of ours?"

[Irn0rchid]

"Wow, I seem to have awakened a monster here..." Blushing heavily, Rose seizes on the opportunity to talk about the job at hand, "Well tomorrow is the gala, so today I'd like to stake out the residence and see what information I can gather there. If I get everything set up before he gets home, I might be able to figure out a basic layout of the inside which would be helpful if I can get Elaine to take me home." Shaking the bag she got from Tiny's, "I've got to install this stuff but that shouldn't take too long. Probably shouldn't head over there till closer to the evening though. Were you wanting to tag along? It's going to be a fairly boring stakeout, I hope."

[Mercy Merchant]

"Me?  On a stakeout?  Wow, count me in.  What do I need to do?  By the way, I am still running programs that are searching for any information on this guy.  It seems that Elaine was once the "other woman" and was picked up as wife number two when the first one found out about her.  The public flare-up was apparently legendary in certain circles.  The shark he hired was better than the one she hired and she got little from the divorce.  First wife is remarried and still in Seattle.  Could she be another source for some information?  Anyway, the rags indicate that there is a huge pre-nup this time, with one source saying that it specifically states that marital infidelity is not a legitimate cause for divorce.  Apparently, he was always planning on playing around and she married him anyway."

[Irn0rchid]

"Well, my plan is to try and set up some drones so that they can listen in to the different rooms of the house and try to figure out what type of room is behind each window. Need to wait for people to be home for that to work though. If you wanted to keep an eye on the matrix and both make sure the drones don't get hacked as well as check around for anything you can see that's odd or interesting, that would be wiz." The slang sounds awkward coming from Rose. After thinking about it for a few moments she continues, "Sounds like the ex might be bitter, she might be willing to dish on him, but I'm not sure if anything she'd have would be relevant... Wouldn't hurt to try though.  I'll need to come up with an excuse to approach her though. Send me the information on her and I'll think about it. As for Elaine, sounds like maybe she's just in it for the money? Doesn't sound like a horrible deal as long as she can stand him. Women have done worse for money..." Thinking to herself, "I wonder where I would draw the line...?" Waving the bag of chips again, "Now let me get this stuff installed so it's ready for this afternoon."

[Mercy Merchant]

Robin nods and leaves you alone to work on your drones.  She comes in once with a cup of soycaf for you, but otherwise leaves you alone.  Twice you take a break to stand up and stretch a bit and you can hear her humming something as she cleans the house.  The drones are ready just before noon and you walk out to the kitchen to find that she has lunch almost ready.  Still working at the counter, she idly waves a hand to a try on the little breakfast bar that has some sandwiches and soycaf ready for you.  "That is yours.  Almost done with mine so be there in a sec."

[Irn0rchid]

"Thanks!" Rose walks to the bar, sits down, and begins eating. "Hey, this is good, what's in this?" She continues to enjoy the sandwiches and, once Robin finishes and sits down, tells her about her trip to Tiny's, "So I didn't end up with everything I wanted, but it should be good enough to get the job done, especially if you're there helping." She grins at Robin, "I really appreciate that, by the way." Once they've both finished, Rose pops up and grabs the dishes to take to the kitchen. "Thanks for lunch!" Putting the dishes in the sink, she turns back to Robin with a smile, cocking her arm on her hip in a vague attempt to be sexy, "So, we've got a couple hours to blow before we head out, anything you want to do?"

[Mercy Merchant]

The temptation is too much for Robin.  Almost before you have the words out, she is on you.  She throws her arms about your head and pulls you in close for a kiss.  For lots of kisses.  Before you know it she is kissing you but her hands are working on your pants, undoing them and then sliding down your body, she slips your pants and panties down to the floor and fastens herself to you, eliciting sounds of pleasure from you as she works you to an internal explosion that leaves you a bit weak at the knees and forces you to hold onto the counter.  Standing, she kisses you again then puts her head on your shoulder.  "Just in case you forgot how very much I lust after your body.  Now, if you want to get some more practice in before tomorrow night..................................?  She leaves the question hanging as she holds onto you.

[Irn0rchid]

"Practice makes perfect, does it not?" as she grins at Robin. Grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the bedroom she thinks, "Yup, I've definitely created a monster... but she's *my* monster!" 'Practicing' for the next couple hours, the girls reluctantly stop when Rose's internal alarm goes off, signalling it's time to clean up and head out. A quick, and sadly uninteresting, shower later finds them seated in the Americar, now black, headed towards the Townsend residence. Cruising through the neighborhood, Rose looks for a place, or places, where they can hopefully park unobtrusively for a few hours. "You see anything odd in this neighborhood, Matrix-wise, Robin?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Practice might indeed make perfect, but it is also a lot of fun if both people are into it and both of you seem very into it.  The time passes far too quickly but both of you are left limp and panting.  The shower is uneventful only because both of you know that it is time to get to work.  Driving away from the house, Robin once again thanks you for bringing her along.  Once in the area, it is easy to find a couple of places to park that are far enough away from the specific neighborhood so as not to cause suspicion.  You hope.  Robin says, "Let me check.  Back in a few."  She slips into VR and begins doing her brand of magic, returning to consciousness shortly.  "There are several cameras in the front mounted on trees and others on the eaves of the house on all four sides.  I might be able to slip in one of the cameras and fool it into seeing what I want it to see when the time comes to do anything.  Not sure I want to risk it now, though.  Beyond that, I picked up commlink signals from five pairs of roaming guards and each one has some wireless stuff on them, such as weapons and chrome.  This guy really believes in security."

[Irn0rchid]

"Don't do anything that would potentially raise an alarm yet, today's just about observing. I'm going to try and set up the drones now, if you can keep an eye out for anyone trying to 'tag' them in the Matrix." Rose goes into AR and launches the three Noizquitos and the CU^3 and directs them towards the house, flying high. Once close, she switches them all to running silently and has them start running Smoke and Mirrors at maximum strength. Running Stealth for the Noizequitos and Clearsight for them all on the RCC, she jumps into each Noizquito individually and guides them to a resting place along one of the side walls and the back, respectively. Firing up a VM with Signal Scrub and Smoke and Mirrors on the RCC, she uses the remaining one capacity for noise reduction along with her headwear to offset the artificial data jibberish she's hiding behind. After assuming an overwatch position inside the CU^3 high up in front of the house, she instructs the other drones to train their laser mics in a rotating pattern on the windows on their side of the building and to alert her and record if they detect any change in sound. Finally, asking the car to speak to Robin, "I'm in position now, so now we wait for Howard to come home. Not as exciting as this afternoon, eh?"

Let me know if I need any rolls for positioning, etc. She can default 2 successes and reduces vehicle test thresholds by 2.

[Mercy Merchant]

You are able to place your drones where you want them successfully. Unfortunately, few of the windows are able to give usable information, either because no one is in the room or perhaps something is disrupting the reception.  You are clearly able to see the five pairs of guards roaming the grounds.  The conversations that you pick up from them are in what you suspect to be Japanese, as would be the case if they are indeed Yakuza hard men. 

In response to your question, Robin says.  "Fragging aye this is exciting.  Besides having sex with you, this is the best time of my life.  I am out on a stakeout with my partner.  Oooh, wait.  A car is turning into the drive.  The plate matches the car driven by Elaine.  She must have been out."  Indeed, your drones covering the front of the house see a sports car pull up to the front drive and park.  A woman matching the description of Elaine Townsend slides out of the car and heads into the house.