Loose Ends

Sweet release. Mr. Jackson slumped immediately, as though an invisible string had been cut, which wasn't too far off from the truth. His eyes darted about before settling on the cat. "What are you? Some sort of magician... no doubt. I- I have half a mind to call for security, but, well... I guess you could say I'm impressed." He leaned against his desk, taking a somewhat aggressive bartering stance, eyes flashing behind his glasses. "Tell me, are your services for sale? We could use someone with your... talents, here. We would pay handsomely to give you a full-time job here, and excellent benefits. What do you say?" He looked expectantly at the cat, before adding in, "And if not, I would be very interested in hiring you for some... personal work."

The cat curls up. A spectral form steps out. Amused laughter. "A full-time job? You would not be able to afford it, believe me on that. Personal work, however, that is another matter. You have done me a good turn, Mr. Jackson, in not forcing me to kill you, and one good turn deserves another. I am afraid I have...commitments today. Come to Flik's tomorrow morning at eight o' clock." On the word "Flik's", Jackson suddenly finds he knows exactly where that refers to. "We will discuss how to your problems would be best...'resolved'. I wish you a good day, Mr. Jackson. I shall see you tomorrow." The spectral form turns to step back into its body. Time to go. This sojourn has gone on long enough.

Passage out of the office went unchallenged until Kit reached the first floor, at which point a salesman carrying a box of supplies stepped out from between two work stations, his foot just barely avoiding Kit as he tripped and stumbled awkwardly to maintain his balance. He turned and called out in surprise, "Who let a cat in here?" All attention in the room turned to a woman in a back corner, who glanced about helplessly, shrugging and shaking her head to proclaim her innocence. "Come on, we all know it was you, Angella. This isn't the first time..."

"It wasn't me!" She protested, and a loud, confused debate ensued, with plenty of finger-pointing and accusatory exclamations, but the ruckus did serve to provide enough cover for Kit to slip back out to the retail portion of the building to rejoin Lin. The two humans and the ork are still there, although they seem to be tiring of their churlish games as the receptionist repeatedly ignores their attempted advances. None of them seem to notice Kit.

A voice appears in Lin's mind. "Subject has no connection to our employer; it was, I am afraid, merely coincidence. Have you observed anything out of place regarding this group? The ork had driven by the pier near the time of the meeting." Kit mentally gave thanks for his ability to alter his form. A person found in the wrong place is cause for alarm; a cat found in the wrong place is merely a nuisance.

Lin waves a cheerful farewell to the clerk, and moves for the door, holding it open long enough for Kit to slip out. As she walks down the sidewalk to her bike, she says "Nothing really out of the ordinary... I'd guess the ork is a fisherman of some kind - although I'm not sure whether he's serious about shopping for supplies or just wants to tease the clerk. Probably a bit of both." As the two of them come around the corner and get to her bike, she offers Kit a hand up into the sidecar, before getting on and starting the engine. "Any other stops you can think of, before we go to the rendezvous?"

Kit ponders for a moment, then shakes his head. "No," he says, his body slumping down in the seat, "Nothing else for now. The fruitlessness of this outing worries me. The Johnson's secrecy and circumspection suggests that there is more to this affair than meets the eye, yet its nature continues to elude us. It is...frustrating."
Sigh. Kit considers for a moment that perhaps he was simply being paranoid, perhaps letting his distrust of most metahumans getting the best of him. Yet...there was a nagging feeling. Something didn't add up. If he expected nobody to take particular interest in his doings, why bother with the boat? Why not simply meet at a bar? Why arrange this whole affair on such dramatically short notice, then demand such secrecy? If it were so important, why not arrange things more in advance?
Kit smelled a rat, and he hated nothing more than a rat he couldn't pin down.
"Tell me, Lin, have you ever heard of Ellington and Wyatt?"

Lin shakes her head. "No, I'm not familiar with those names... but I know what you mean. If the job is just as simple as dropping a small case off at a poorly-guarded warehouse, why hire such a large team, and offer such... exorbitant payment? Then of course there's the fact that he didn't offer any of it in advance... I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being more work to get our money tomorrow then it is to do the job today."

Kit shrugs. "Well, we've done what we can. Let us go to the meeting, and we shall see what we can do with the assistance of the others."
As the bike zip through the streets, the cat in the passenger seat raises his head, golden eyes squinted against the rushing wind.
"sO, iF I uNDERsTanD tHiS CorrEcTly, yOU Are CuRreNtLy EnGAgEd tO sErVe An EmpLOYER oF iNDeTERminATE mOTiVE to Do a SUSPiCiOuSlY SIMPLE tAsK uNdEr a MASSIVELY uNREASONABLE tImE REsTRAinT. hAVE I Got ThAT rigHT?"
"Yes, Smolder."
"wEll...aT LEAST iT Won'T be BoRiNG."

Lin makes the rest of the drive in silence, and parks her bike a mile away from the rendezvous point. Opening up the backpack in the sidecar, she pulls on her duster, and slips her sword in between it and her back, with the handle in easy reach. No rifle yet... to conspicuous. Leaving the rest of her stuff inside the locked compartment under the sidecar's seat, she offers Kit a seat on her left shoulder, and moves off towards the rendezvous. As she walks, she opens up an AR window and dials the contact number Anna had given her for that hacker, hoping that he was ready to get clued into his part of the job by now.

Kit looks out from his perch on Lin's shoulder, looking out for the others. He had hoped that they're time had been more informative than his own, but he was not hopeful. He did want to see those vials, however. What they contained...now that he was curious about. And the hacker's information may prove valuable. And he had learned bits and pieces; he hoped that ork would be able to shed some light on it.
"while this task is for tonight, i fear it may extend longer, little hunter."
"Sand, I truly hope you are wrong on that count."

As 6:30 rolls around the group was finally reunited, albeit less two members. Unlike Colton and Bruddah, Kit and Lin arrived exactly on time. And unlike any of them, Gwydian and Trigger didn't even show up, mysteriously absent and unreachable. But at least everyone else showed.

The sky overhead was overcast, the brief vacation from the normal Seattle cloud coverage over as quickly as it came. With the sun obscured, the temperature was dropping quickly, but at least the air was dry and not threatening to rain. By that point in the evening things were beginning to calm down in Tacoma, with some businesses closing up for the day even as others were just opening. The shops in this part of town were an oddity compared to most of the Seattle Metroplex. The old industry of Tacoma lent to a more reserved model of operation as opposed to the high energy, 24/7 pace of Downtown.

All that contributed to the general feeling of quiet at the mission site, perhaps the calm before the storm. The warehouse stands as a bastion, the focal point to the group's objective in the area. All that remains is deciding how to proceed. And a large part of that depended on what sort of Matrix support they had for this job. It was all up to Lin's fixer, or rather to the hacker Anna had directed them.

In Lin's AR view, the call box to the hacker suddenly lit up as he answered, "This is fizzle!" proclaimed a Picasso painting in abstract cartoon style, it's jumbled face warping and rearranging itself as it spoke from one of several sets of lips. "Hope you have a good reason for calling this number!" a mouth on his(?) forehead grinned and an eye on its neck winked in what might have been a joking manner, although the lack of context made that difficult to determine.

Lin's mouth quirks in a half-smile at the hacker's icon. "Yes, I heard that you might be interested in a little extra income to augment your normal business... and my team and I happen to need somebody with your skill set for a quick job. I understand you're available yet this evening?" As she approaches the meeting point, she opens up another window and sends of a quick text to the other members of the team - On my way with the cat. Talking to the hacker right now, hope to have stuff worked out with him quickly.

Bruddah had just finished tossing the RFID eraser back to Colen when his wrist comm had jiggled again - still on silent. Grey eyes flick down to it, and a thick finger jabs once to bring up the message from Lin. After a moment of reading, he grunts, and quietly slides the shotgun out from under his lined coat.

"Dat woman an' her cat is headin' up de way. Best ready 'case dey got deyselves some extrie guests."

So saying, the orc chambers a round into the Defiance, and steps to the side of the doorway - shotgun loosely gripped, and pointed down towards the floor in front of the door. Ready to swing up if the two 'partners' are being lead on a leash by something lawful.

. o O (This all starting to smell to me. Better safe than sorry.) O o .

Kit's spirit perks up, noticing Lin's preoccupation. "The hacker has contacted you? If so, please ask him if he knows anything about Ellington and Wyatt." Kit finds himself desperately hoping not to run into yet another dead end. He was growing tired of obsessing over this. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to check ahead to ensure that our rendezvous point is uncompromised."

A few moments later, Bruddah "hears" a mental voice behind him, every word dripping with supercilious sarcasm. "As far as welcomes go, 'Bruddah', a shotgun is...novel to say the least. What would you have done if we truly were coming with Lone Star? Shot at their Citymasters with fletchettes?" The shimmering shape of a cat is sitting on the table, a spectral mouth curled into a Cheshire smile.

"'Normal' business?" The icon echoed the phrase, affecting an expression that... well, it remained as confusing as ever, making reading its tone very difficult. "Sono ferito dalle tue parole! I am not some corporation to be contacted during operating hours or sought after for overtime!" A flurry of movement across his face, a swirling maelstrom of body parts. It might have been gruesome were it not for the simplified cartoon style. "I am an artist; rispondo a nessun uomo! But..." a mouth on his chin curled downward in an upside-down grin. "I will make an exception for such a pretty lady. Tonight, I am not available: ho del lavoro da fare. Unlesss you mean available available, in which case yes, I am certamente available available." A pair of eyebrows waggled, the effect disconcerting both because of the sleaziness of the gesture and the fact that they were on opposite quadrants of its face.

"Che ne dite di questo..." The face paused a moment, several eyes squinting. Either it was supposed to look thoughtful, or constipated... hard to say. "I will help you if you will help me. Money is good, yes, but I am the starving artist. Not having money? Questo è normale. What I can not stand is going thirsty, and that is exactly where I find myself." A mouth on his right cheekbone opened in an imitation of a silent scream before shriveling away and being absorbed back into the face's smooth skin. "For my art, I am bound in place: bloccato qui. Stake out, you understand. An artist's work is ten percent skill, fifty percent dedication, thirty percent innovation, and one hundred percent patience. And zero percent math, evidentemente. But here is my proposition! If you will fetch me a drink, I will do your 'quick job,' and it will be a masterpiece. But I cannot work thirsty, semplicemente non farà! How does that sound, mio amore?"

"Ain't never liked flechette no how." Grunts Bruddah, not dropping his grey eyed gaze towards the door. "Pr'fer slug. Lessen ya'll huntin' down dem devil rats." He finally glances over his shoulder, towards the spectral cat on the table. His tusked jaw works a moment, but if he's surprised to see Ghost Cat doing his cheshire impression, the big ol' fellow doesn't show it. Though he does straighten up slightly, holding the shotgun idly by a single hand now. If there was a spooker in the room, then there was a spooker with any potential lawfuls. 'Surprise' don't exist.

"Dem devil rats make theyselves a fine stew, ya'll pull dem guts out firs' an' boil de poison out."

He then rolls a shoulder, and reaches up to flick a thumb across the tip of his broken nose. "S'pose yo be de same fuzz what lay 'bout dat ship. Git yoself anythang innerestin'?"

A chuckle. "Some, but we shall discuss that once Lin arrives with my body." The cat glances around, surveying the room and checking the auras. "I came ahead simply to ensure there was no one...unexpected here."
He grins, the mouth stretching wider than would be physically possible, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. Glinting, mischievous eyes peer at Bruddah, shimmering gold.
"I suppose, despite me making fun, I am no less circumspect than you."

Lin smiles slightly, and says "Yes, I believe we can work out some form of mutually beneficial arrangement. Exactly what sort of refreshment did you have in mind?" As she talks, she walks within sight of the meeting place, and Bruddah can see her walking with the careful gait of somebody paying attention to two things at once - in this case, walking and taking a videocall.

"Eccellente! This is what I wanted to hear!" The facial features bunched together towards the middle, circling in an odd orbit of body parts. "Sapevo che sei una brava persona! Ora, I fear I have some particolarmente specific tastes, a very specific drink I enjoy, no, bisogno per lavorare bene. Without it, I fear my concentration è distrutto!" The puzzle face halted its movements for a moment, all four eyes, two noses, three mouths, and one ear pausing their never-ending migration to sit sluggishly still.

"This nectar of life necessary to my continued performance is one of the sweetest drinks known to umanità, the holy Toscana passito, Vin Santo, bevanda degli dei! And the best place to get it is the Italiano, in Renton. Such atmosphere, and the wine selection... insuperata!" Two of the mouths began to grin impishly; the third just licked its lips. "You get the vino, I have the cantucci, and together we shall enjoy a spuntino delizioso when you arrive. Che ne dici, amore mio?"

Lin nods serenely to the hacker, and says "And where would you like me to deliver it to?"

"Bene..." the face seemed to consider the request for a moment, the majority of its mismatched pieces fading away to leave him mostly featureless. "I suppose this requires a little trust on my part. Trust you need mio assistenza competente, hmm?" The face split down the center into one large mouth, which chuckled a soothing deep laugh that did not match the disturbing image of the icon. "Sfortunatamente, I do not have much forza superiore del corpo... Ah, no, how is it...?" Both eyes narrowed in confusion, and for a mere moment the face looked surprisingly human, but then it passed as the nose drifted past the eyes, which sunk towards each other in a spiral to join into one larger eye. "Bene... essa è non importante! I will tell you where I am not, and we will go from there. I am not in a place that is called by any other name than the U-District. Simple, hmm? Ho pensato così!" A series of ears curved across the middle of his jaw in a bizarre imitation of a smile. "I'll tell you more once you have the Vin Santo, è leale?"

"Ora, what is this 'quick job' you have for me? Something trivial, I'm sure? Or do you bring a sfida for the artista? I could use some eccitazione, this line of work is so... noiooooosooooo..." He stretched out the last word, beginning it with one mouth, continuing it with another once the first fell silent, and ending it with a third tucked under his chin.

colton pulls the bow taught with a stick n'shock arrow ready "k im ready" when the cat suddenly pops up he twitchs and almost releases the arrow once the connection is made he lowers the bow and slowly releases the tension in his shoulders to make sure to not snap the bow string and slides the aroow back into his coat. "so the kitty's on our side..." when lin finally comes around into view "hey we finally got company..." andtosses the tag eraser to her "do a quick once over.. dont want no rfid tags giving us away... so has anyone got a good idea for tonight. we really need a plan about now and all mine include explosives...." looks at bruddah "not sure he will be much for the soothing type either... that leaves you" points to lin "whenever you have the availability of that hacker maybe we can get even a better plan. and anyone heard the name Black Ball Transport Inc? thats all my buddy was able to bring up on the boat..."

Grey eyes continue to quietly watch that doorway, although Bruddah's beginning to relax a little bit. But he maintains that grip on the shotgun, the Runner's version of a 'door greeter'. Oh, he's listening to the cheshire cat, of course; Thats beside the point. Gotta know when it disappears so he can shift position. But when the thing mentions something along the lines of 'circumspect', Bruddah blinks in surprise. And quietly works his tusked jaw; English was a second hand to him, he preferred the more natural Or'zet. However, after a moment of running words through his head, he figures he's got the right meaning.

"Diddin know dey still cut folk like dat. Ya'll ain't lookin' Yiddish." Yeah. Circumspect. And then he raises a thick brow as he glances to Colten, grunting as he begins his own little tale.

"Ain't a whole lot t' be find. Watch dat place fer a lil' bit... saw our boy commin' out de back, messin' 'bout wit' a staggerin' dwarf. 'Course, dat dwarf only staggerin' when he headin' in - somber as stone comin' out de back." Bruddah rolls his shoulders, and doesn't mention the guard. Purposely. "Not real busy."

Lin nods politely to Fizzle, and says "Very well then, I'll call you back when I have your wine."

Entering the room with the others, she deftly catches Colton's tag eraser, but tosses it straight back to him, pulling her own out of her pocket, and holding it up with a smile. "I covered that aspect already." Listening to his comment, and to Bruddah's reply, she chuckles. "I just got off a call with Fizzle, the hacker. From the looks of it, he'll be able to handle what we need done just fine... although I need to go buy him a bottle of wine. That's his fee, apparently." Setting down the briefcase they're supposed to deliver, she lifts Kit off her shoulder and sets the cat on the table. "Here's the payload. It may take me a little while to get things set up with Fizzle, since I'm going to have to drive over to Renton, then the U-district, then back here. I should be back in time to go in, though. Is there anything else I should know before I go secure our technical support?"

Kit finds himself laughing out loud in spite of himself, his laughter broadcasting into the minds of all present. "Haha! You're very funny, Bruddah. Very funny, indeed!" He takes a moment to compose himself. It proves quite difficult to do.
"Please wait a moment, Lin," Kit broadcasts once he'd sufficiently recovered, "While everyone is here, I would like to go over a few things. First, I would like to know this: has anyone here heard of Ellington and Wyatt?"
Kit puts out the question without too much hope. Even if he gets an answer, he is fairly sure it would only lead to more questions. But then, that is life.