[Kozak]

Following in Aishuku's example, Kozak spoke.

"I can be sneaky when the situation calls for it, but I prefer doing the talking.  And I volunteer to speak with the widower."

He checks the time. 

It's beginning to get late.  I hope this meeting doesn't last much longer.

[Operator]

“We can resume our investigation tomorrow when the sun is up. I am willing to visit the subway; otherwise I will be getting some rest prior to our appointments.”

Taking a pen from his pocket, Operator scrawled a commcode on a handful of blank business cards and distributed them to the runners. “You can reach me with this number.”

[imperialus]

Hirikara ward: Chiba 23:30h

The number of patrons in The Chop Shop is starting to dwindle down as the dock workers and other working class folks start making their way home to get some sleep before another 10+ hour workday tomorrow.  A pair of Renraku security guards wander in, give everyone in the joint the stinkeye and have a short conversation with the bartender before leaving.

[Scarecrow71]

Aishuku picks up the business card, turning it over several times before settling on the comm-code.  He deftly inputs the number into his own Commlink, and then pushes his contact information back out to Operator.  He then quickly, and quietly, gives the others at the table his contact information.

We have some time to kill before we can go to the Oni's house or business.  I would like to get some form of sleep this evening.. he spits out as he begins to yawn ...and then tackle the business in the morning....

His voice trails off, and the expression on his face shows that he is deep in thought.  After several seconds, he speaks up.

You know, the house and the business are probably both going to be knee-deep in police and security tomorrow morning.  And the subway video may not exist by the time we all wake up.  I am going to swing by the subway station on my way home and do a little minor snooping, if anyone wishes to join me.  If not, where and when shall I meet the other 2 of you that are going with me to Kusbana-san's office?

[LeighFox]

Beth remains rather quiet through most of the meeting, letting the males talk, listening carefully to each of their opinions and ideas. As Tinman gets up to leave, she offers him a gracious little bow from the waist, respectfully; she may be gaijin, but she won't be accused of being disrespectful!

Once he is gone, however, she nudges her glass away, then signals to a waitress and orders a light Saporo instead, along with some of the fish that Tinman suggested. Done with that, she turns her attentiosn back to the men as they continue their discussion.

"I'm surprised Tinman didn't introduce us. I prefer to be called  Nightshade... my real name isn't particularly important." she offers, her tone low but relatively sincere. "As for what I do.. " she trails off and shrugs. "I worked for Lone Star for four years... that should probably be enough. I know my way around the streets, and I know my way around a fight. Don't expect anything fancy, though." Nightshade finishes, shrugging again.

"Are any of you... familiar with the more intimate details of the Matrix? I agree that the surveillance video may well be gone by tommorow.. hell, it might be gone by now. We need someone to get into the system to get a copy of it, at the very least."

As Operator passes around his commcode, Beth adds it to her own, then offers up her own commcode to the four of them. "I'm going to hang around here for a bit longer... I'm starving, and I'm not passing up a free meal." Beth chuckles softly, showing that perhaps she's not always totally serious.

"After that I might poke around a little... see if I can dig up anything. I don't need a lot of sleep, generally."

[Kozak]

Kozak takes the card, saving the comm-code, while passing out his own.  He ponders leaving, when his stomach growls.

"It seems I'll be joining you on the free meal, Nightshade-San.  I don't know about the rest of you, but the only thing I've had all evening aside from the quite robust drink is tea.  Afterwards, I'd be glad to join you and Aishuku at the station.  Perhaps one of guards would be willing to talk."

[Scarecrow71]

A decent, FREE meal sounds good about now...

I think I shall join you for the meal.  We can then leave straight from here to go to the subway station.

Aishuku flags down one of the waitresses and asks her to bring them a set of menus for the place next door.  When they arrive, he places a decent order - Udon, steamed with fish and fried in sesame and garlic oil, with a side of edamame.  When the food does arrive, he eats quickly and cleanly, not talking during the meal as he feels it would be rude.

[Operator]

Operator rose up from his seat, bowing briefly to his associates. “I will excuse myself for now, as I have some calls to make. Notify me when you leave for the subway and I will meet you there.”

Departing from the Chop Shop, Operator hurried back to the parking garage where his bike was stored. I'll message Hans and pick his brain. Yamaguchi may also know something, but I can't risk tipping off the Yakuza too early. Wasting little time, the Japanese man started the Mirage's engine and took off into the neon-lit streets.

<@Mark Hans>
<<Mark, how is the sim market treating you? I can't thank you enough for looking after my warehouse while I handle affairs here in Nihon. I'd like to inquire if you know of or have had dealings with a Yokohama cleaning firm named "Simply Clean." If our schedules permit, we should go to lunch - my treat.>>

[imperialus]

Simbashi Subway station: Chiyoda ward: Tokyo. 00:45H

Your food arrives and like Tinman said it's pretty decent.  Nothing special, and you're pretty sure that the fish is actually krill but at least it tastes decent. 

After eating your meal and spending a few more minutes talking you start heading towards the subway station.  The trip is largely uneventful.  Even the traffic has died down considerably.  The station itself is in the heart of the government offices for Tokyo and the JIS.  There are still some lights on in the gleaming modern buildings that symbolize the power and prestige of the Japanese Imperial State as bureaucrats and government staffers do the work of managing a country with interests spread across every time zone in the world.  The bulk of the workers have long since left however, having been replaced by a small army of cleaning drones and their human overseers who will be working throughout the night to ensure that there is not even a blade of grass out of place in the neatly manicured lawns and gardens surrounding the buildings.

During the drive in you see very little overt security, but anyone who is native to Japan knows that just driving through this ward will get your vehicle scanned by a hundred different cameras and the registration cross referenced with almost as many different databases.  You'd better hope your papers are all in order.  You are able to find parking near the subway station and since it is after 11PM it is free until 4AM.

Going down the escalator to the subway you pay for a fare and begin your investigation.

[Kozak]

Stepping off the escalator, Kozak takes a look around the station.

Hmm.  For a place widely known as the heart of Neo-Tokyo, I'd expect it'd be busier, despite the hour.  Glad it's not though.  It could make things more difficult.

He opens up his AR, bringing up a top-down map of the station, hoping to find the security station. 

"Obviously, our first priority should be obtaining a copy of the security footage.  Anyone have suggestions?" 

[Scarecrow71]

Aishuku let the step-van drive itself to the subway station, the pilot program easily navigating the heart of Neo-Tokyo.  And doing a much better job of it than he could.  This gave him time to pull up the earlier news story on the Oni on his commlink so he could study exactly where the accident happened.

Once at the subway station, he made his way down the escalator, putting his goggles on as he did so.  At Kozak's question, he stopped.

I don't know how we are going to get that security vid.  But I would like to take a look at the scene itself, if you don't mind.  I'm sure it's been sterilized by now, but you never know.

With that said, he follows the AR instructions to where the accident happened - hoping it isn't too far from where he ran into Kozak - and he scans the place, looking for anything that may be a clue or point to something else that might be.

Perception 3 + INT 5 + Cybereyes Vision Enhancement 1 + Goggles Vision Enhancement 3

12d6.hits(5) = 5

[Operator]

Arriving within Simabashi, Operator accompanied Aishuku to the accident scene and trained his eyes towards the ceiling and pillars overlooking the tracks.

Let's see how many cameras were watching Kusbana-san. Considering this is the heart of the Empire, a thoughtless disruption of their feeds would have brought about an immediate response.

Perception 6 + Intuition 4. Op is specifically searching for the presence of cameras that would have observed the accident.
10d6.hits(5) = 1

Also rolling Knowledge: Security Design with 6 dice.
6d6.hits(5) = 0

Great rolls on both accounts, right?

[LeighFox]

Beth eats her meal with quick and quiet efficiency, all the while keeping in mind the local customs over the consumption of meals; while this may be a bit of a dive, it pays to make a good impression on the locals. Once she has finished both the tempura "fish" and her Sapporo, she uses her commlink to leave a small but appreciative tip for the waitress before standing.

A nod to Aishuku and Kozak. "I'll travel with you two... I've got a bike parked nearby." she explains, then heads out of the Chop Shop and heads back towards the parking lot. Once there, she does a quick walk-around of the bike, checking for any signs of damage or sabotage. Perhaps a little odd in behaviour, but it carries back to her time in Law Enforcement where an officer was required to check a vehicle before taking possession of it.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3615698/
(Perception 8 + Vision Enhancement 3 = 11dice; 4 hits, probably success)

Satisfied that there appears to be no damage or sabotage, Beth smiles to herself, shrugging out of the lined coat and stuffing it into the saddlebag, then mounting up and donning her helmet. After consulting a map of the area, she starts up her bike, then waits for Kozak to take off, following him.

@Kozak: Lead-on, I'll follow  a couple of car-lengths behind.

After arriving at the subway station, she parks a few spots away from Kozak; dismounting she pulls the lined coat back on, stowing the helmet into the saddlebag for safe keeping. Checking her sidearm and backup, she then moves to follow Kozak and Aishuku into the Station.

When Kozak pipes up with a question, Beth looks to him. "Matrix work isnt my specialty, and poking around might set off alarms if it's not done delicately.." she replies, then tilts her head. "I'd suggest we communicate via commlink.. never know who or what might be recording us." she adds in a lower tone.

Immediately, she sends both Kozak and Aishuku a subscription request; if/when they accept, she opens up a voice-chat window and links them both into it (her persona, incidently, looks like an athletic woman in generic SWAT armor of black and royal purple, a helmet with a full faceplate made up of a reflective material and an energy-sheathed katana).

Casually she follows Aishuku a half dozen paces behind, keeping an eye out for potential threats; once they arrive at the crime-scene she starts to slowly make her way around it in a circle, scanning the area and using her knowledge of law enforcement protocols and crime-scene management to try and get into the heads of the detectives who processed the scene in the first place.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3615723/
(Knowledge: Law Enforcement 6 dice; 3 successes)

[Kozak]

Kozak subscribes to Nightshade's voice-chat as he follows the group to the crime scene, utilizing his sub-vocal microphone to keep things quiet.  He also activates his regular commlink integrated microphone, to help make sure nothing sneaks up on them.

Listening Perception : Int 4 + Device 2 - 6d6.hits(5)=3

Taking a quick look at the crime scene, he's impressed at how it looks like nothing happened despite the contrary. 

Finding anything here is gonna be hard. 

Kozak activates the Ultrasound in his contact lenses, trying to find any cameras that may have seen the incident, while scanning the area the old-fashioned way.

Visual Perception: Int 4 + Device 3 - 7d6.hits(5)=5
Yay for teamwork. 

"Think we'll find anything here?"

[imperialus]

Like you suspect, the platform and rails have been scrubbed clean.  A full forensic team could probably find a spot of blood or something, but short of pulling up tiles, or jumping onto the tracks yourself the physical evidence is just gone.

Digital evidence however seems to offer a better chance at success.  You see at least 2 different cameras that would be well positioned to see the gate that Kusbana went through.  There is a 3rd one that offers a wider angle of the rest of the platform too.  You might not see Kusbana, but you'd be able to see most everyone else on the platform.

The security office is clearly marked on the public AR map for the station.