[Mercy Merchant]

Snow nods.  "Still on, but almost weaned off.  No chance of getting addicted.  I think the last half pill is tomorrow."  She laughs.  "Funny you should mention him.  He and Tommy both came up and are working here in Seattle.  I moved in with them a couple of days ago, when I was discharged.  I think I have given up sleeping around to be with just Andrew.  I want to see if it will work or if I scare him off.  Right now we make each other happy, and that is a good thing, right?  So, where I come from, it is not normal to drink hard stuff alone.  Let me order a couple of vodkas and we can salute our achievements." 

  Snow pings the AR menu and orders a couple of vodka shots.

[farothel]

"I'll have a slow comfortable screw up against the wall with satin pillows the hard way," Sammy said, "if they have it of course.  Otherwise a vodka-martini, shaken, not stirred."

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor rolled his eyes at the stupid named drink Sammy ordered. He pulled up the AR menu and ordered himself a whiskey on the rocks. He checked the door to see if the face had showed up yet, "Torley might not making it since I shot him up all to drek the other day." He paused to enjoy the others' reactions to his mischaracterization. He gave a wolfish grin, "Relax, it was only gel rounds and besides he was asking for it." He paused again to enjoy their reactions, "He asked me to help him with some training."

[Mercy Merchant]

Snow winces.  "Ouch.  Just thinking about it hurts.  I hope Sam is alright."  When the vodka shows up, she shoots one back and places the small glass on the table.  "Can't get too drunk with you guys.  Andrew will be by when we are done and take me dancing somewhere.  He said something about line dancing, which I have never tried before.  I have looked it up and it is different from anything I am used to.  Any of you good at it and can give me tips?"

[Thvor]

Sam took his time getting ready for the meeting. Partly because he didn't have any qualms about arriving "fashionably late", but largely because he was still sore from his training session with Con. The extra sparring afterwards did seem to have helped prevent his muscles from cramping up too badly, but that didn't mean that he didn't hurt. Not that anyone would be able to tell from looking at him, of course; he was becoming increasingly confident in his ability to control what people could read from his body language.

When he arrived at the club, he quickly noted that everyone else had already gathered. Before going over to them, he stopped at the bar and ordered a scotch. With his usual easy smile, he greeted the group. "Ladies, Con. How's everyone doing?"

[farothel]

"I'm fine," Sammy said, "or as fine as anyone can be with a teenager at home.  Hey Snow, if there's one person who can help you with your dancing, it's probably Sam."

[Necrogigas]

With everyone now present, O'Connor turned to Clem, "You're not one for social calls. So what's this meeting about?"

[HydroRaven]

"There are many things you don't know about me, Con" answered the ork. "But you're right, this isn't a social call. I wanted to put my cards on the table and ask your opinion. Most of us have been on two runs together already" continued Clem, pausing to give the other runners time to see where she was going. "Now we've had our ups and downs, but I think everyone would agree our total is worth more than the sum of our parts, as our accounts can attest. So what I propose is that we make this official. If we come pre-packaged as a unit, our chances of finding employment goes up 5-fold, and Johnsons usually like the idea of reaching out and finding everything they need in one go. If we let our respective fixers know, then they might even have more jobs for us as a team than as individuals."

The ork turned around and signalled the bartender, letting him know she was ordering a pitcher of beer since O'Connor's was quickly emptying itself. "I'm not saying we should make matching jackets or anything, but we could come up with a team name, just as a business card and to build up our street cred."

[Mercy Merchant]

Snow looks around at the others.  "Alright, I should lay my cards on the table as well, then.  I do appreciate that you had to accept me at the last minute as a fill-in for someone else.  It has become apparent to me that my skill set is not as strong as I would like it to be.  I am a hacker, but my shooting is better than my hacking and my med skills are better than my shooting.  I am improving some of my hacking abilities, but I am a long way off from being truly good at it.  I think that we worked well together, but that decision is up to you guys, of course.  Secondly, I am Vory.  I was born into the organization and have grown up in it.  There is still a strong link and I could be called on to do something for them.  My association does give me access to certain information and possibly equipment, though, so this is not entirely a bad thing in my mind.  I cannot break these ties and so leave it up to you to decide if you want me to stay in the group."

[farothel]

That was quite a speech, Sammy thought.  Announcing ties to an organisation like that was not something you did lightly.
"We all have ties to our past, one way or another," she said, "maybe not as extensive as yours, but still.  For me, I don't mind becoming a sort of permanent crew, but I'd rather stay in or near Seattle for now, as I'm having some issues at home with my brother.  He lives with me since the big earthquakes in LA and I'm his official guardian.  He's going through a phase right now and I'd rather stay close until it passes."

[Mercy Merchant]

Snow nods at Sammy.  "Thanks.  I just wanted that up front with you guys in case anyone has a problem with the Vory.  So, how old is your brother, and what is the problem, if I might ask and if you want to talk about it?"

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor downed his whiskey in a few gulps, "If we going to continue running together then you should know that I'm fighting a gang called the Azure Fists. So if a run leads into Redmond, keep an eye out for adepts and muscle heads wearing a symbol of, well, an azure fist. They're not real creative thinkers. If they figure out you're connected to me, they're try to take you out. If you're lucky that is, the things they do their captives ain't pretty. Anyone else have enemies or loyalties that might complicate things?"

[farothel]

"It's not a big problem," Sammy said, "he's in puberty and being a bit rebellious.  Nothing to be worried about, just a bit annoying at times."
She turned to O'Connor.
"I live near a Mall in Everett," she said, "while I know that those kind of gangs, especially in larger numbers, don't rate high on the 'do the intelligent thing' scale, I doubt they will go across town, though all the security in the 'better' neighbourhoods to attack someone who lives in an area where KE patrols are much more frequent.  But I'll keep an eye out."

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor gave Sammy a sour look. She seemed so eager to talk down to him, that she didn't even listen to what he said. He repeated slowly, "If...a...run...leads...into...Redmond...look...out." He ordered another whiskey, "It is unlikely they'd track you down to whatever nice fancy place you live Starlet, but don't underestimate their hatred of me or the lengths they'll go for vengeance. I've killed a lot of their people, and they blame me for far more."

[HydroRaven]

In an attempt to diffuse a potentially degenerative sitution, Clem intervened. "Alright, if we ever have to hit the slums, we'll keep an eye out for organized drekheads."

She then took a sip of her beer and continued. "I used to work for an organization that got dismantled. Consequently, if there is any way we can work against the Shotozumi-gumi, then that's what I will do. And I won't kill any kids unless there's a damn good reason to do so. Anything short of that, I'm fine with."