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Serious Paul wrote:
"Boku agameru.Kore wa Neke no desu. Ore agameru." His voice is raspy, as if he is parched. He bows deply. His body stiff, he holds the bow.
Nekekami stands slowly, not turning to face the boy. "Find why the target is being set up. I need to know why I'm on the job. And any information you can find that may assist me in a possible relocation of the target's primary loyalty is also needed. This one will have to work on credit for now, so hold the fee as a future cost, until I can settle up at a later date. I'll also need you to set up a priority blind relay that I can use to contact you directly, independent of time and location. The relay needs to be set up as soon as possible. Get me the information whenever you have it, with frequency of updates at your convenience. Your risk for exposure is high on this one, King. But it is that important that I'm asking you to take the risk. Stay in contact, Stephen-san. For once, I can say this with all honesty. I owe you one."
The yakuze walks away without another word, knowing that the boy will not understand what just happened. He doesn't know about the biometric safety on the Predator. He also doesn't know that his signature is recognized by that same system. He could have finished the action, something only myself and Abe are normally capable of doing. He'll make a valuable member to the clan in the near future, even more valuable than me.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Nekekami enters through the back door of the bar, stepping into the stock room. Kees steps into the room, not surprised to find the yakuze stripping off his jacket and holster. He's seen this act before. The Dutch bartender smiles for a moment. It's a smile that Nekekami returns. "The usual Kees...I'll pick up my gear before I leave." This is the time for the Asian to fully control someone else, to handle them with the care and precision that he uses so well. The bartender knows that this activity covers Nekekami's true lack of control over the things he cares for the most, but the face still performs this activity with the skill and intelligence that shows true artistic beauty.
Leaving his jacket, the Secure Vest, and the Predator (and the companion holster) in the stock room, Nekekami knows that they will be untouched and present when he returns for them. As he paces around the stock room for a few moments, he makes the call to Rob up in the booth.
The Hunt is on, Sir DJ.
Nekekami disconnects, knowing that Rob will follow the pattern that any good DJ has established with the club-junkie that he lives through vicariously. It's a dance they've danced before, and it will be the same beat this time.
As Confidential's It Really Don't Matter queues up, Nekekami starts the walk. His black turtleneck has been left in the back, exposing a body that is toned and sculpted beyond the capabilities of the average, and not so average, human. The black slacks flow easily around his physique, while his riding boots smoothly guide him around the perimeter of the floor. His torso and arms are clearly shown to the world by the white mesh sleeveless jersey. Wendy saw Kees head to the back, and as always, knew what was coming. She's seen it before. The two shot glasses of vodka are on her tray as the Asian face strides by her. With one glass in each hand, held with the lightest of feather grips, he makes his move onto the dance floor.
Balancing one glass on the top of each of his hands, he extends his arms above his head. The music flows through him as he lets his limber joints and honed reflexes guide him through the moves. All the while, the shot glasses stay precariously balanced on the tops of his hands. The song rolls out, and he has the crowd in his hand. More importantly, he's spotted several possible victims. Right on time, Rob has Aaliyah's Are You Feeling Me? smoothly rolling in on the heels of the last song.
Nekekami keeps up the flow, but this song is for the prey. Out of the three possibilities, it's now been narrowed down to two. The true victim shows her true colors with her eyes. It's that smoldering look. They can never resist telling the whole story with the eyes. It will be hours before they realize who controlled who. It's the power to control another human being...a drug more powerful than any other. The pheromones have already reached her nervous center, and her pulse is speeding up. The perception of time slows down, and the visual cortex begins processing information at a faster rate.
The hunt is complete by the time Ginuwine pumps out of the speakers. Simply Irresistable is the closer. The black queen across from Nekekami knows she's been played, but the usual smile creases her lips. Game, set, and match. Now, the crowd's reward.
Nekekami entwines his legs between the woman's, slowly sinking further back. With a shot glass held in each of their mouths as they sink further back, the finale approaches. With their bodies extended perpendicular to their entwined legs, both of their heads rock back, as they swallow down the vodka. The hunt is over, and the crowd cheers out its approval. After the obligatory dances and drinks, Nekekami steps away from the bar to grab his gear from the back room. He smiles as he links his arm with his queen, moving towards the exit and his bike.
The headphone connects with Abe's, taking a few microseconds of static before the line clears. My plans for the night are set, bruddah. Drop Smoke wherever he needs to go, and Hooka will find his own way home. My 'therapy' will finish up before you get back to the Loft. I'll update you there.
******
Nearly two hours later, the alarm on his retinal clock wakes him. He strides from the bed, leaving his sleeping queen there. As he showers and cleans up, fairly well relaxed and rested, he activates his full communications suite. He waits for the team to make contact. Time's up, boys and girls. Role call.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Marcus walks across the room to you. He stops just out of arms reach. His eyes have taken on an intensity that you have never seen.
"I've already left. I am no longer an Ares employee. As of two hours ago I Marcus Slade is no more. He died just like he lived, mysteriously and quietly. A loyal corpoarte employee. He died in a helo crash, that unfortunately also killed six other loyal Ares employees,who also worked in executive security."
"I'm independent now Clarissa."
"My team and I are now working your side of the streets."
Gryce looked at his impeccable watch with a small sneer. It was nearly time.
That was well; he had eaten, and felt ready for some action, some activity. He was ready to make this work. Or not; he didn't much care. Money was money, either way.
He stepped into the downtown street and waved at a cab.
She could feel it building and tried to squelch it to no avail. It started as a small chuckle and soon tears were coming out of her eyes. The situation wasn't funny, but she couldn't help it, her sentances were puntuatued by small giggles and futile attempts to compose herself.
"Jesus, Marcus. Of all the stupid things you've ever done, this tops it. I'm sorry, its not funny, it really isn't. You know I almost asked you to come with me years ago, right? Oh geez, I'm sorry, I'm trying to stop, really." She finally manged to get her fit under control, and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"It isn't as easy as it looks to make it out here, you know. This isn't like KE where you give every job your all. There's a line in the sand you have to find for yourself, the line that says here's where I stop pushing it and just let it go, here's the rules I won't let myself break no matter how much I could get back in return." She realized that she'd created a wall between her and Marcus at some point, and it had just crumbled before her eyes. She was abotu to say something when a chime sounded, signalling her that she had a half hour before she had to meet Nekekami and the others.
She took both of his hands in hers, her eyes betraying how much she just wanted to stay here with him. "I'm on the clock on 30. Is that all the time we have, or will you come with me or wait for me here?"
Marcus looks deflated for a minute. Almost as if you had kicked him directly in the chest. You can see the embarassment in his eyes. He speaks softly,"I will be here in Seattle for another week at least, maybe longer. I have biz as well. Maybe i'll see you afterwards, that is if you are finished."
He turns towards the door, then stops. He sets a necklace on the table. With his back towards you he speaks, "This is for you. I hope it will remind you of me.Be careful Clarissa, things are changing."
There was a phone in the cab, thank god. Gryce had stopped carrying one years ago, and had no use for one now. He spoke the numbers aloud as he'd heard them into the theoretically soundproof chamber of the back seat. He didn't care much if someone was bouncing a laser off the windows or listening on some bug; it wasn't his phone, after all.
There was a brief jitter as the phone dialed, and then a beep. Somewhere in the city, Epsilon's phone was ringing. Gryce had a momentarily nasty wish that it was waking him up.
She watched Marcus leave, a quiet smile on her face. He'd be fine out there for a few hours, maybe a few days. She grabbed her phone as she walked over to the table where Marcus had left the necklace, and punched Nekekami's number.
Gryce wrote:
There was a phone in the cab, thank god. Gryce had stopped carrying one years ago, and had no use for one now. He spoke the numbers aloud as he'd heard them into the theoretically soundproof chamber of the back seat. He didn't care much if someone was bouncing a laser off the windows or listening on some bug; it wasn't his phone, after all.
There was a brief jitter as the phone dialed, and then a beep. Somewhere in the city, Epsilon's phone was ringing. Gryce had a momentarily nasty wish that it was waking him up.
Nekekami finishes his shower, tying the wrap closed around his waist. Passing through his bedroom as he heads for the loft, he is not surprised to notice that his queen for the evening has left. A regular. It's good to see someone who actually understands this game. No attachments, no commitments.
As he sits in the black leather recliner in the loft, he keys up the DVD player. It's about time Abe fixed this thing. It's been too long since I watched Ronin. As the chase scene through the streets of Nice begins, Nekekami notices the retinal display on his phone is active. Opening a channel in the communications headware, he's not surprised to see the visual feed disabled. A public phone...good choice.
"Moshimoshi? What your order?" Nekekami adopts the strongest undereducated "slant-eye" accent he can muster, unsure of the identification of the caller.
*Hello (in a telephone greeting)
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Quicksilver wrote:
She watched Marcus leave, a quiet smile on her face. He'd be fine out there for a few hours, maybe a few days. She grabbed her phone as she walked over to the table where Marcus had left the necklace, and punched Nekekami's number.
Activating the second line, he wastes no time easily recognizing this number.
"Nekekami...go ahead Quicksilver."
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
There's a long pause on the other end of the line. "Ahoy ahoy," Gryce finally says, his grating voice no less irritating in telepresence. "Where to, my good man?"
Quicksilver smiled at Nekekami's voice. Even if everything in the world turned itself inside out and upside down, Nekekami she could always count on. "I'm inclined to think your previous warning should have applied to this job," she said wryly. "Where should I be to fill you and the rest in?"
Nekekami keys up the third line on his commlink. As soon as Kees picks up at the bar, while finishing the closing procedures, he knows the answer before even asking.
Kees-san, I would like to ask for the use of your front room this morning and afternoon, if I may. I will keep things in shape for opening again tonight, and would consider it a personal favor, Kees-san.
Keeping his tone respectful, he awaits the response.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Kees replies in a distant voice, one that you recognize as Kees speaking on the speaker phone while cleaning, "Of course, of course. I would be honored to share that which is mine with you. I have some business to attend to, I will be out of the downtown area picking up supplies for the better part of the afternoon, so you will have the place to yourself."
Thank you, Kees. You'll get the explanation you deserve for all this mess as soon as I can find the time. Take care.
After hearing the Dutch bartender's parting words, the yakuze disconnects the line.
Line 1 - Gryce
"There's a coffee shop on 24th and Mackie. Not far from a bar called the New Amsterdam. Stay in the coffee shop in plain sight from outside. I'll meet you there and take you to the meeting spot, once I have the proper security in place."
Nekekami awaits confirmation from the odd mage.
Line 2 - Quicksilver
"You know the New Amsterdam, correct? Bring my Banshee, and park around the back, coming in off of Mackie Drive. Wait there and I'll let you in. As soon as possible, Q. We need some prep time to get everything ready for the rest of the gang. I'll give you a ride back to your place when we are finished, so that you can pick up your ride then."
Waiting once more, Nekekami begins to head back to his bedroom to prepare for the day.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
"You got it, 'kami. Be there in 15." With that, Quicksilver hung up. Shrugging out of her tank and shorts, she grabbed a RT jumpsuit, sliding in the programmable pattern box. The color scheme altered to one of the 'common' patterns, red, and the stripes and electric blue tone swirl. She reached to unhook the predator form its cord, and looked at the necklace again. Part of her wanted to take it with her, but the runner in her knew if was better to leave it here should someone grab it from her be able to trace it to Marcus. She instead settled for putting in a secret drawer which held a few spare clips.
She slid the predator and slivergun pair into the harness, and threw on her grey duster. She was down the stairs and and on her way to New Amsterdam soon after.
"Move it, slant-eyes! We're gonna be late, and it'll be your fault again!"
Abe stands at the door to the Mega-Loft, tapping his foot impatiently, as the Tsarina idles outside, pumping forth noise into the Seattle early morning air. He adjusts the straps on the pocket secretary and fiddles with the patterns on his ruthenium polymers while he waits for his Asian partner to get his ass in gear. "Quit messin' with your hair, fuck-head! C'mon!"
Checking his bag of gear once more, he starts towards the stairs just as Nekekami finally begins to descend the stairs. "Prick. Let's go." He smiles a full toothy grin at his partner, wondering for a moment what took Kami so long. The moment passes as he hears the next song queue up and begin to play.
Making sure his gear is secure, Nekekami grabs the his bag, and finishes strapping on his vest as Abe begins to yell. The Asian face chuckles for a moment, as he slides his duster on. He mutters to himself, as he checks his gear one last time. "Impatience helps no one, my friend."
As he descends the stairs and triggers the alarms and locks behind him, he throws a piece of rolled up scrap paper at Abe. "Get moving, Tusky, and shove it." He slides into the passenger's seat of the Tsarina, stowing his gear bag at his feet, while Abe situates his gear bag in the back seat. "Where's the Method disc I gave you? We'll need that at the Amsterdam tonight."
As Abe tosses the CD booklet at Kami, the ork pulls the vehicle out slowly, beginning the drive to the club. "Are you sure about this, bud? This job smells worse than I do."
Nekekami nods agreement at his partner. "The pay is good though, and I'm not sure this is one of those jobs we should walk from just yet, brother. Let's play this one out for a bit."
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
The ork makes the drive pass quickly, between belting out lyrics to the Crystal Method and cutting off every SUV in sight. "Out of my way, baby factories!"
Pulling into the back parking lot of the New Amsterdam, he slows down while Nekekami gets out and opens the garage door. Easing his baby inside, he smiles as the sound system's output echoes around the large garage and loading dock. "Cool. We need a room like this at home." His toothy grin says it all.
As the Tsarina shuts down, Nekekami starts to bring the door down on the garage. He pauses for a moment, as he hears the sound of his Banshee nearby. Smiling at Quicksilver as she brings his cycle to a halt behind the Tsarina, he secures the door, double-checking the electronic lock.
"Good to see you, chica. Abe, get started on the electronics. A quick scan of the place, and let's get the poc-sec set up with the laptop. We'll need the display capabilities and your hands working as the data-man. You've got the report from the King uploaded, so get that set as well."
Nekekami turns to look at the speed gillette. "Quicksilver, can you check the front and bar area? Just make sure things are clear. If you can, just get some drinks, alcoholic and otherwise set up...something to munch on if need be. I'd like you to run your corp-sec eyes over this place...just make sure everything is secure. I'm going to get the bike reset, and then I'll be in."
The face goes to work on disabling the temporary passwords on the bike, and reinstating his own permanent codes.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Quicksilver nodded and left the bike to Nekekami. Walking inside, she took in her surroundings with the aim of looking for all the areas that could hold surprises. Still running a critical eye over the place, she noted a few seats and made her way to the bar to look for the bartender or someone.
"There's a coffee shop on 24th and Mackie. Not far from a bar called the New Amsterdam. Stay in the coffee shop in plain sight from outside. I'll meet you there and take you to the meeting spot, once I have the proper security in place."
Nekekami awaits confirmation from the odd mage.
A long pause, while the mage keeps him waiting, just for fun. Then a long sigh. "Yes, okay." And then he disconnects. Phone etiquette just isn't his thing.
He pushes the intercom button to tell the hack his destination, but it closes with a dead click. There is no confirming tone, and the cabbie doesn't move. Irritated at the need, Gryce raps shortly on the plexi partition, and the driver turns to him and opens the sliding portion of the glass. Gryce sees the cybereyes, and then the smell hits him. He doesn't care; everyone's got to work somewhere.
He gives the destination, and the driver makes an abrupt U-turn in the middle of traffic, swinging the big Elite around. He doesn't bother to close the glass, but Gryce doesn't even notice. He sits back and looks out the window at the streaks of color gliding past. Soon, the meeting. And then, the job.
Nekekami strides across the main floor of the New Amsterdam, headed for the front door and the street. "Abe, I've got to pick up Gryce. Get that equipment set up, slack-jaw." He flips the ork off as he walks out the door, chuckling to himself.
Striding down the street, he ducks into an alley a block down. He positions himself near the entrance to the alley, allowing himself to observe the coffee shop on the corner, without being too obvious. He passes the time smoking, waiting for the mage to arrive.
I wonder if Smoke ever got my message....
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
The big Elite pulled up to the curb, the sound of the door opening lost in the rumble of the engine. Smoke pulled the keys out as he stood up out of the car, thinking he should really get that damn suspension fixed....it was getting rather uncomfortable.
His cigarette flicked out over the car, landing in the street in a small shower of sparks as his strange eyes swept up and down the block, surveying and logging for the possible future need. He allowed his second sight to take over momentarily as his feet headed towards the bar, the tails of his long, somewhat battered longcoat sweeping around his ankles with a soft "whisk, whisk" with each graceful step. He stopped when the other Elite pulled up, and Gryce stepped out, looking just like he did the other day..bored and irritated.
Pax Romana, Motherfucker. Breaker of unbreakable things.
Gryce steps out of the cab and looks back at Smoke with contempt radiating from his form. As he walks past him, into the coffee shop, he says, "You know that's considered rude in some places, right? Come on. Let's get this stupid meeting over with."
Gryce walks into the coffee shop, finds a random seat, and sits down without ever looking around.
"Kiss my ass, slant-eyes." Abe throws a wrench at Nekekami's retreating head, and growls as the wrench smacks the closing door. He finishes his work in the next several minutes, then turns to look about.
Quicksilver has finished her inspection of the perimeter, and is just starting to look around for a bartender. "No 'tender tonight, chica. Kami wanted it quiet, so we got no staff here. Just grab some beers, or whatever you drink from the back." Letting his gaze linger a bit longer than normally polite, the ork belches as he turns back to inspect his work on the audio system.
Smoke smiles to himself, lighting up a cigarette as he steps into the coffee shop. He..almost...flicks the cigarette of the back of Gryce's head, but realizes this is the same impetous nature that always gets him in trouble. He merely takes a long drag off it as he sits down opposite the surly mage.
"You wish to discuss rude, hermit, then let us discuss your actions at the first meeting."
He takes another long drag off the cigarette, flicking the ashes into the small ashtray on the table, waiting. For either a response, or the other people to show up. Gryce was right about one thing...it was time to get this meeting over with and get something done.
Pax Romana, Motherfucker. Breaker of unbreakable things.
She raised an eyebrow at Abe. "Kami's playing hardball, then, never known him to ask a favor like this for a run." She shrugged and went around the counter, grabbing a few beers and finding a nice expensive red wine. It would cost her a chunk of cred, but after the nights revelations, she figured she deserved a little something extra.
As the TR-55C sat down on the tarmac,the flight crew immediately set chocks and began to unload the cargo hold. Sleek black aluminum cases, are swiftly stacked some in a blue Ford SUV and the larger ones in the rear of GMC MPHUV. As the flight crew finishes the side hatch opens and the passengers begin to disembark. None could be mistaken as civilian despite their casual dress. Four men and two women, six total. All dressed in jeans and matching leather jackets. Each wearing a hat that bore the isignia of their corporation and disguised that all of them including the women wore their hair high and tight. They are greeted by a man bearing a zaibatsu tattoo and wearing a dark blue Comme Des Garcons suit.
The suit stepped forward as the engines on the TR-55C died down. He looked over the team, his cybernetically altered eyes scanning them over:
Captain Laura Chambers. The furthest on the left. She was of average height, but her build was lean and wiry. She moved with an unnatural grace that betrayed the delta grade move by wire system. He had read what he could of her file, since he didn't have the security clearence to read a great deal of it. She was one of the youngest Fire Watch Captains ever.
First Lieutenant Daniel Wu, an elf and the only metahuman on the team. His file stated that Lt. Wu was a physical adept, and his file contained so many Omega code access only entries it was a worthless read.
Sargent Alicia DeVries. She was on the fast track for promotion from what he had been able to dig up, and her assignement to Team 12 was specifically requested by Lt. Wu. She was stunning, physically perfect, and probably contained wnough wetware to hardwire his kitchen.
Corporal Malcom Holt.A gigantic black man, who almost rivaled an ork for his physical size and strength. His file was contained numerous reprimands for a wide variety of trespasses. He apparently had s erious authority problem, which is why he had seen Sargents stripes seven times already.
Corporal Fyodor Innokentiy. He was a russian, blond stout. The distracted look in his eyes wasn't boredom, he knew.
He turned towards Captain Chambers and put on his best smile.'Show time.'
"Captain Chambers." He nodded towards her but remained out of arms reach." I trust your flight was comfortable?"
Captian Chambers look would have withered a charging troll samurai. "Good afternoon sir."
"Yes, yes,it is.If you will follow me I can show you to your quarters."He turned towards the SUV, and said with a wicked smile, "So you're from Sterling Heights Captain? It must be nice to be back home?"
The Asian face walks into the dinner, puffing on his partially wet cigarette. The light drizzle outside hasn't helped his mood any, which doesn't improve upon seeing Smoke seated near Gryce. He never contacts us through the agreed methods and then shows up out of the clear. I swear I'll be walking on this crew yet. These two wouldn't know the meaning of the word professional if it bit them in the ass.
Taking a seat in the booth next to Smoke, Nekekami offers one of his Camels to Gryce, then to Smoke. "So gentlemen, any word about our mutual friend? Before we move to the meeting place, I'd like to discuss exactly what our capabilities are in the Awakened department." Looking around the near deserted diner, he gives a cold glare to the two punks in the corner. Watching as they quickly depart, he nods to the waitress as she leaves three black soykafs on the table. She's not unfamiliar with this type of crowd, with the New Amsterdam across the street. Even better, she's known to Nekekami. With a knowing stride, she quickly hustles the rest of the customers out the door, claiming that she's closing early tonight. She lights a cigarette as she takes her soykaf into the kitchen, leaving the shaman, the mage, and the face alone in a cold Seattle diner.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Watching Quicksilver for a moment, as she leans over the bar, he turns back to the audio system, putting the final touches on his work. "System's clean, and I loaded some tunes to drown out the background noise. No listening ears, and we'll have a recording for later use, if needed."
Walking to the bar, he cracks open a beer, guzzling half of it down before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Who knows? Kami's been on a big spender kick lately. This ain't really our kind of job, so might as well spend the cash you have, in case you ain't there to claim it later. So any word about the guy we're cacking?"
Quicksilver held the wine glass causually and sipped the expensive wine, another habit and mannerism that betrayed her origins as somewhere higher up the human social ladder than the street. "True. The odds are stacked so far against us in this one...lots of words about our guy, some choice ones being 'liability' and 'firewatch'. She watched his reaction and added, "I've got quite a tale to unwind when when all here, and I'm glad we can all be sitting down."
"Well, I usually am able to cast spells." Gryce's annoying voice was no less bothersome in the silence of the diner. "I mean, other than that, what are you asking?"
Smoke declines the face's cancer stick, instead lighting one of his own. He shakes his head slightly, more to himself then anything, at the Mage's response, and waits for the face's response to the..brusqueness.
Pax Romana, Motherfucker. Breaker of unbreakable things.
The face sips his coffee, then sits back slowly, drawing cripsly on his cigarette. He stares out the window, his mind elsewhere, while his thoughts stray. "You know, we're sitting here like a couple of regular guys, having coffee, staring out the window at the world we left behind. But we all know that normal is a word that will never be applied to us. The two of you see the type of things that would drive most people over the edge. I process information in ways that the human mind was never built to deal with. None of us are alive, we simply live among dead people."
Nekekami shakes his head quickly, bringing himself back on track. "I need to know exactly what both of you can handle. Can we count on you both to be able to have additional support from your own personal astral entourages? Are there any types of astral forces that you cannot combat? What type of spells can you both handle? Can you support us in covert actions, if needed? Do you have firepower that covers a wide area? Can you assist in dealing with injuries suffered in combat? And most importantly, outside of your spells, when the fan starts to smell, what else can I rely on you for? If an opponent closes with you, do I need to move quickly to deal with him, or can you defend yourselves? When you're on strung out shape, and spells are just failing you, can I give you my secondary weapon and depend on you to keep yourself safe?"
"I need to know your capabilities, specifically, both inside and outside the Awakened arena. There's a storm coming. Do I need to guide you through it, or can you walk on your own?"
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Quicksilver wrote:"The odds are stacked so far against us in this one...lots of words about our guy, some choice ones being 'liability' and 'firewatch'."
The ork visibly pales for a moment. "No fucking shit. Firewatch? Time to seriously consider a long walkabout on this one. I may be God's gift to the world, but that's playing way outta my league."
Activating the cellphone to link with Nekekami's, the ork starts sending his thoughts as soon as the connection is made. Get this meet moving, slant-eyes. The babe is telling me rumors of Firewatch competing for the same job. We may need to walk on this, brother. The heat is climbing.
Gryce looked edgy through the end of Nekekami's initial speech, and continued to look discomfited throughout. Finally, he replied, "I do not summon. I am not useful in any way once spirits are involved. I do not use weapons, and if I tried, your best option would be to be my target and not my ally, since I am much more likely to hit the latter than the former. I do heal, I do sneak, and I can make you invisible or silent as easily as I can make myself such. I can knock individuals or groups unconscious.
"As for requiring your guidance, it is in your best interest to consider that you might require mine more than the obverse. I am done."
The face smiles, leaning forward to chuckle at the mage's actions while he processes Abe's message. "So ka, wise one. Stay cool. That's my job. Find the cracks in the armor and put pressure on them. And you're correct. You may well lead me through this storm. But as you said, I'll leave you to do what you do best. You say you can cover us, then I know I can count on you for cover."
Turning to the shaman, Nekekami's look turns cold. "You, on the other hand, dear nature boy, have already disappeared on me once. Should I consider that a personal habit of yours, or can I trust you to cover my ass when a big flaming lizard appears in front of me? And what exactly can you do anyway?"
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Turning to look at Smoke, the face smiles cooly. "Just make sure when things get ugly, you toss spells the same direction we're firing." He chuckles at his own private joke, knowing that none of those present will follow his reference to an archaic war film. "Enough then. You two will do your jobs, and we will do ours. In that regard, it's time for me to do mine. We have a meeting to attend, if you'll follow me." Nekekami slides his way out over top of the booth, allowing his well honed senses to keep him on balance as he steps lightly over Smoke. "Let's get to it then."
Making his last connection with Abe, he also links Quicksilver's phone into the call. Primary parties are now inbound. Abe, get the machines online. Silver, make sure I'm covered on our way in from these two, and any one else.
Flipping to the other line to speak with Abe, Nekekami drops back to a normal tone of voice, as it were. Grip, we're ready to go, correct? We need to start this show, if we're on a time clock against Firewatch. Get the security running. ETA, two minutes.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
"The spells will go in the same direction, face-man. Rest assured on that."
Inwardly, the young shaman shook his head. Why did metal-men always have to be so damned arrogant? At least the arrogance of the mage was amusing, to an extent.[/i]
Pax Romana, Motherfucker. Breaker of unbreakable things.
Smoke stands smoothly behind the face, shaking out the tails of his longcoat as he follows him outside. He takes a long drag on his cigarette before flicking it out onto the street and allowing his inner sight to scan down the rainy street, the.....smoke in his eyes twirling more chaotically as he did so.
"So, exactly where are we going?"
Pax Romana, Motherfucker. Breaker of unbreakable things.
The face smiles at Smoke for a second, wondering to himself how he has been stuck with such a naive native buffalo-fucker. His smile drops from his face as he sees the few other clan members on the street, especially when he realizes that Chin is among them. He outright frowns, annoyed that the presence is so obvious, until he realizes that in this area of town, not seeing clan members would be suspicious. His frown quickly disappears.
Not even looking at the shaman, he simply brushes his right ear with his fingers, plain enough to see, as he glances around the street. His left hand reaches inside his coat pocket, fumbling around for his lighter, as they walk the first block towards the NA. As they make it to the second corner, he realizes that the clan has them covered. Coincidentally, he finds his lighter at this time, as he realizes that he won't need his pistols at this time. Confident in his clanmates, he leads the trio through the next two blocks, and smoothly through the front door of the New Amsterdam. "Honey, I'm home!" He beams widely, leaving Abe and Quicksilver to wonder which one he was speaking to.
_Do not confuse luck with skill. - Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), The Replacement Killers
Smoke followed the face into the interior of the club, snarling softly to himself. Seeing as how the pompous metal-man thought him an idiot, Smoke decided to stay silent for the time being, until he figured out exactly where they stood and what in the frag was going on. Lest he prove him right.
Pax Romana, Motherfucker. Breaker of unbreakable things.
Nekekami know exactly how much the particular wine she was drinking cost, and considering the usual scale of wine grade to how much trouble they were in, they were in for a lot of shit. "Wonderful dear," Quicksilver said drolly as she pushed herself off the half wall she had been leaning against. "Have a good time? It sure won't be from this point on I can tell you."
Gryce was annoyed. This state of affairs, on the other hand, was nothing new to him; he was pretty much always annoyed when he was working nowadays. No professionals in this field, no one who knew what they were doing, always working by the seat of their pants, one second to the next.
In retribution, he had resolved to do the same thing; he never thought more than a minute or so in advance. He never asked questions, never offered advice. After all, it wasn't like anything on these streets could hurt him; he'd faced so much worse in the past that this was like a vacation to him.
So he followed along, took the orders, and waiting for things to go sour. He knew they would. All these people, claiming they knew what they were doing, and they were all so wrong. Whatever; he could leave any time he liked. Or simply take them all out and accept payment from the opposition. It wasn't like he'd never done that before.
The club was lousy, dirty team-mates, ugly decor. His compatriots looked like anyone else in this stupid city. As he walked in behind Smoke and the face, he occupied the full capacity of his industrial-strength mind - whose abilities were so far less than necessary in this situation he thought he might as well get a lobotomy - dreaming of how, exactly, he might go about killing every one of the idiots occupying the moronic bar.
Captain Chambers sipped the tea from the mug slowly. She reviewed the information before her slowly digesting each piece.
The team had been hired by a Mitsuhama Johnson, that much they knew. Intelligence had solid leads on two of the five, and one was likely a former Ares employee, Chambers even briefly remembered meeting ehr once during a training exercise, years ago.
She disliked this entire mission. It reeked of infighting, and intercorporate warfare. She hated becomign involved in the many family feuds that Ares was so well known for. At times she was required to do things that didn't set well at all with her intricate code of honor.
William Grey was by all means a loyal corporate sariman, who'd simply made the wrong enemies. His sole misfortune was bad politics. She sighed and started to set her FRAG order down.
To rewrite an EPROM, you must erase it first. To erase it, you must supply a level of energy strong enough to break through the negative electrons blocking the floating gate. In a standard EPROM, this is best accomplished with UV light at a frequency of 253.7. Because this particular frequency will not penetrate most plastics or glasses, each EPROM chip has a quartz window on top of it. The EPROM must be very close to the eraser's light source, within an inch or two, to work properly.
An EPROM eraser is not selective, it will erase the entire EPROM. The EPROM must be removed from the device it is in and placed under the UV light of the EPROM eraser for several minutes. An EPROM that is left under too long can become over-erased. In such a case, the EPROM's floating gates are charged to the point that they are unable to hold the electrons at all.
"Well, we certainly haven't got all day, we might not even have all night. Internal Affairs is scapegoating Grey, Firewatch is loose, and Mitsuhama is most probably our Johnson, just wonderful, isn't it?" Quicksilver drained the rest of the glass of wine. "And all I got is a name and a meeting tomorrow. How was your evening?"
They'd all been silent, reacting to the girl's words, for quite some time. It was annoying. He hated being annoyed. Which was, of course, one of the reasons he wasn't a terribly happy sort of guy.
"I'd like to be honest with all of you, but since that's vanishingly unlikely, I'll just say this, instead: I have no idea what's going on. I can't keep half-track of who's where or what's being fucked up by which person, and I frankly couldn't care less. That's not my job; it must be one of yours, since I know for a fact I wasn't hired to be the brains of the outfit.
"So someone here needs to tell me what I need to do, and then I'll do it, with or without any of you. If you tell me what needs done, I'll do it myself, if that's what we have to do. But so help me god, if I have to sit here and listen to you lot prattle on all night about the myriad ways in which we're all fucked, I'm going to eat someone's liver."
Smoke inhaled deeply on his cigarette at the end of the mage's monologue, shaking his head slightly.
"What's Firewatch? And why do the other two matter to us?
The young shaman turned to the mage, an insolent grin creasing his face. "And don't try to eat my liver. In order to hunt, you need to learn all you can about your prey in order to be successful. Besides which, it wouldn't be very palatable. Or easy to get to".
Pax Romana, Motherfucker. Breaker of unbreakable things.
