Thirty Days of Night.

MissTeja · Post by **MissTeja** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 6:23 am

Bly looked at the man speaking to her. "Works for me. First things first, though, if we're going to be working together, I ask that you make yourself comfortable with calling me Bly. Someone says "ma'am" and I will rarely turn my head. Especially in a crowd."

Bly grinned. "Speaking of which, I did not catch your name. ...All in all, really, I think I agree with you though. A lot of what we need will not be completely known until we are able to momentarily absorb ourselves into this 'hunt' and familiarize ourselves with all of it's specifics. I think our best bet is to get going on it immediately."

Bly looked around the room, specifically at Ms. Johnson, the Inuit who called himself Inuk, the cashew-obsessed one, and the man to whom had just addressed her. "So where shall we start?"

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 12:33 am

Mr. Johnson nods as Bly finishes speaking. "Very well then, " reaching into his pocket he places an optical chip case on the table, "here is the relevant data, Ms. Johnson can provide access to more. Of there is nothing else for me, I think this is my stop."

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 12:36 am

Ms. Johnson waits until Mr. Johnson makes his quiet exit to speak. "Well I suppose you'll be wanting to review the data from the interviews, and probably view his work station and apartment. Does that seem like a good startng point?"

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 2:05 am

"I think you're right, Bly, we should get started right away. The names Derrick, Derrick Arthur. A rather poor joke of the parents I'm afraid, but I can't blame them too much. They were high...a lot," he turns at Ms. Johnson's comment, "And that, Ms. Johnson, would be the best course of action. I think the apartment would be a better starting point, unless you plan on removing his workstation at some point in the near future?"

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 2:33 pm

"Of course," Ms. Johnson smiles as the airship rocks ever so slightly, and the screen near the door flashes the message that the ship had moored temporarily, one of many stops," Ah perfect timing. Shall we?"

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 11:57 pm

Ms. Johnson lead the team out of the Zeppelin thru a quiet freight door in the rear of the module. As the team passed several small carts waiting to be loaded onto the Zeppelin they could see other passengers clearing security or exiting the module. Ms. Johnson was quiet as they entered the freight elevator.

"Unlesss any of you have an objection I have arranged transportation to Smiths former residence."

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 7:15 am

As Ms. Johnson pulled the 2060 Cadillac Deville into traffic, she talked while she drove. The runners were piled into the luxury car,with Ms. Johnson behind the wheel.

"Well any stops before we head to the Smith residence?"

Inuk · Post by **Inuk** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 12:55 pm

Wide-eyed and somewhat dubious of his surroundings, Inuk placed a hand on the leather seats to anchor himself in a reality he understood. "No," he said quietly, looking around at the city spread out around him. It was a day of wonders, it would seem.

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 6:17 am

"No, with the information you've given I think I've got enough to start with. Let's get on this trail as quickly as we can?" He reached into his coat for the cigar case, pulled one out and tapped it a few times on the silver etching. He paused for a moment looking at what Freud would see as more than just a cigar, and flipped open the case again, "I've got three left, anyone want them? I think I'm going to be giving them up for a while."

Bly · Post by **Bly** » Mon Sep 15, 2003 7:14 am

Bly turned her head slightly to him and curled up a corner of her mouth, "That's good to hear. I think you and I may just get along after all." She let her grin fade back and turned her head forward once again. She never understood smoking, nor the elegant and prestigious notions associated with cigars and other certain tobaccos.

Bly carefully shifted her leg. Scrunched between the two men, she wasn't used to being confinded to such close quarters with strangers. Her mind wandered to the thought of this having been an entire set-up; a complete conspiracy for her capture for some reason unbenownst to her. The thought made her wish she had taken shotgun after all. At least then she would have a mere skim of a chance at bolting once they revealed to her their hidden agenda.

Bringing herself back to reality, she cleared her throat and let her thoughts drift back to the wonderful taste of apple cider that still lingered, though was almost diminished, in her mouth.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 2:07 am

The Cadillac pulls into the subterranean parking garage, and after the laser eye scans the bar code on the vehicle the hydraulic motors kick in and pull the reinforced barricade back. Ms. Johnson maneuvers the vehicle into a spot just down from the bank of elevators.

"Smiths parking spot and vehicle are in level below this. His apartment is on floor 65."

Ms. Johnson turns the key off, and opens the door. "Shall we?"

She leads the team to the bank of elevators and keys a card into the slot, opening the door. As the team loads in Ms. Johnson begins to explain the buildings security, "This building is part of an interconnected series of seven buildings. Each is one hundred and fifty stories, and generally speaking inhabited by Aztechnology and Universal Omnitech employee's and their families. Some apartments are subleased to varying second tier corporations for seasonal and business use, as well as a few being sublet to the Seattle Government for income based housing."

"Primarily security is based on the concept of keeping unwanted people out. That means once past the doors and garage levels security is pretty lax. All residents are required to utilize a slash style key card that doubles as their door key and a retinal scan to enter the building. Vechiles are bar coded on the lower right side of the windshield."

"Cameras monitor the primary entrances and garage levels. However these tapes are not saved after 24 hours unless a critical incident is reported. There are no cameras for the most part inside the building-for several reasons."

"The first is that most of the residents do computer work-this means they could theoretically access the system and utilize for their own purposes. The second is simply cost. Its just to expensive to waste that kind of money."

"Apartments are classified into four categories. Blue coded apartments are lower level employee housing. Generally they are single bedroom, and 1000 square feet or less."

"Green coded apartments are generally family housing, and can vary from 1250 to 1500 square feet. Most of buildings one and three are coded green."

"Orange coded apartments generally comprise this building. Think of it as midlevel executive housing. Most of this buildings residents have private bathrooms in their apartments versus communal facilities. They also generally have private kitchenette as as well."

As the elevator doors open Ms. Johnson leads the way thru the quiet halls. The walls are painted in muted greens and browns. The floor is covered in thick brown carpet that appears to have been cleaned fairly regularly. Every so often along the wall are faux brass lights. As Ms. Johnson comes to a halt in front of the door the numbers 6512 are printed on the door in black letters.

"This is it." Ms. Johnson slashes her card key opening the door.

Bethyaga · Post by **Bethyaga** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 4:45 am

Simon feels twitchy and out of his element this high up in the city. He stands close to Ms. Johnson, but his eyes flicker about the hallway, searching for anything out of place. As the door clicks open, Simon feels himself wanting to jump as if he expects there to be anything inside.

Bly · Post by **Bly** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 5:22 am

Bly hung back from the group a bit, but not far enough to cause alarm. Ms. Johnson's words absorbed into her mind, secondary to the images she concentrated on, as she attempted to capture the outlay of the building. She carefully studied every bit of security measures and building detail that she could and burned them into memory. She found herself rather impressed with the simplicity, but thoroughness of it's setup. As they arrived at the room, Bly caught herself up with the group and awaited entry into "the" room.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 5:43 am

The apartment was spacious by any description, but definitely had a "busy" feel to it. It was obvious even at first glance whomever had been here had simply up and left. The foyer was a short hallway about six feet by four feet, with a closet to one side. Visible on the entryway door frame and in various spots were chemicals tha had been used to lift latent fingerprints and check for other chemicals and fluids.

From the foyer the apartment opened into a wide living room and kitchenette combination with a walk out, but enclosed balcony. The aparment was a mixture of japanese efficiency and spanish sensibilty. A single desk with a sesk top style computer dominated one end of the room, the other seemed geared towards a tridentertainment system.

The kitchenette was small, but made allowances with a breakfast style nook, and a wide array of machinery built into the walls-microwave, cooler, toaster, vat dispenser. The refrigerator was covered in magnetic holopics, and corporate logos.

A small hallway led to the master bedroom suite, and the other bedroom. In a city where space was a premium this apartment was luxurious by any standard. Exspensie furniture, top notch machines, and cleaning drone services. Samuel Smith obviously had an easy life.

Inuk · Post by **Inuk** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 5:50 am

Inuk waited until they were all in the room, then leaned apparently casually against the doorframe. From here, he could see both the hallway and the apartment; his hands hung loosely at his sides, ready if anything untoward should happen. He also exuded the odor of someone who hadn't showered - ever - which made being out of the close confines of the Cadillac much more tolerable for the others.

Bethyaga · Post by **Bethyaga** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 7:05 pm

Simon eyed the entertainment center for a moment, but decided it could wait. Instead he made for the phone, seeing if there was any chance that messages or a call history remained on the machine. Barring that, he could at least get the number for later research. Simon was sure the Johnson family had already been through all that, but it never hurt to do your own legwork.

Bethyaga · Post by **Bethyaga** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 6:21 pm

Simon gave a toothy grin and called over his shoulder to his team, "I think a couple of us will need to visit the Three Points Bar and Grill this evening, but first let's see if we can figure out who's business our Mr. Smith has been nosing in."

Simon flips the phone to voice only and then punches up the return number for DeltaFax. As he listened to the tinny ring on the other end, Simon casually flipped through the selections in the media center. Let's see if Mr. Smith has any taste at all.

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 10:24 pm

Arthur slid into the desk and flipped the computer on, knowing full well that he wouldn't find anything that probably hadn't already been found by the corporate thugs. He did know that he was going to see it for himself first hand, and that always painted a better picture in his mind, "Let's see if there's anything tasty that got missed? Hmmm?"

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 8:00 am

As Derrick switches the computer on, he examines it. It is a stream lined desk top, but at first glance it has obviously been modified. Its keyboard is also lackign a standard set up-the keys have been reprogramed and moved. As the machine briefly boots a single box appears with a cursor in it. Derrick sighs. It's obviously some sort of encryption, but what kind?

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 8:38 am

"I love people with something to hide," the thought is said to no one in particular and doesn't really mean anything. Everyone has something to hide, some more than others and the guilty most of all. "Anyone else good with computers? Or do you have a crack team on hand, Ms Johnson? If not, I've got some people I can call."

Bly · Post by **Bly** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 12:41 pm

Bly walked a concentrated grid around the room, looking about for anything blatantly out of place. She had never before been in the apartment, so had some difficulty discerning between what was definately his and what could have been planted, but she made her best effort none the less. The only thing "blantant" she found, however, was the fact that someone had been in a frenzy within the apartment. Either to get out - or maybe to find something, she pondered. She was unsure. Seeing nothing stand-out alarming, Bly headed towards the bathroom. One question she had failed to ask Mr. Johnson was for information on the suspect's medical history.
As she entered the bathroom, she saw the medical cupboard. Opening it, she scanned the labels for anything out of the ordinary.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 3:44 pm

Ms. Johnson considered Arthur's request for a moment and then spoke, "I have people who could be relied upon to perform certain functions if necassary. Of course this begs the question, do you want to trust my people?"

Inuk · Post by **Inuk** » Tue Sep 30, 2003 3:41 am

Something...something. Maybe it was this place, this unfamiliar cave of homes, but something was off. Though his posture didn't change, Inuk's hands curled into fists, and his perception flickered back and forth between the spirit world and the human world, as usual outside his control. Like a hunter waiting patiently in the scrub, waiting for his prey, he stood immobile but ready.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 2:54 pm

Derrick considered the question for a moment, quietly concentrating on the screen in front of him, and after a small pause simply replied, " I see no reason why trusting you at this point in the venture is a risk, but I would say thats an awfully odd comment? Is there some reason we shouldn't trust you?"

Ms. Johnson smiled; leaning back against the wall she folded her arms. "With some of the people I have worked with over the years paranoia is a way of life, I guess it must have rubbed off somewhat. I am sorry to have been so crass."

She smiled, and Derrick couldn't help but for a second feel his pulse quicken. She's a sharp one he thought to himself. He breathed in her phermones and wondered what other surprises this women held. "Soka, its a rough trade."

"I'll contact our people and have someone here as soon as I can." With that she stepped into the hall and pulled a cell phone from her pocket.

Derrick turned back to the machine, crossing his arms across his chest he folded his fingers and wondered, 'Just what sort of secrets does Mr. SMith have, hmm?'

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 9:04 pm

Ningeogapik woke with a start.Her body was covered in sweat, and the furs she used for her bed were soaked.

Red Snow

It was coming. Soon. She groaned as she pulled her legs out from the covers. Things got harder as she got older.Damn it. Ningeogapik silently cursed the situation. Her people would need her strong and ready for the coming danger, and here she sat an old woman, nearly spent with no heir in sight, no replacement. A tribe with out a medicine woman was like a man with out...

"Grandmother?" She looked over at the door, and smiled. Her grandson was the local sheriff, he covered Barrow and its out lying settlements, of which her village was one. He was a tall man, just over six feet, and rock solid from hard living. He worked long hours in the cold weather for little pay and often no thanks.

Chinoua steped into her small room, her trailer was her one concession to modren technology, and grinned. He was wearing denim jeans with thick insulated boots, and an equally insulated jacket with a parka style hood.As he entered the room he made a gesture of respect and said the traditional words. He then knelt by her bed and scooped her up into a crushing hug. "Grandmother! You look well."

She couldn't help but smile. Chinoua was like a giant teddy bear who felt it was his duty to look after her. She quickly calmed her face and then with a dour frown said, "Let me go you oaf! Do you want to crush me?"

"Sorry Grandmother, I was just happy to see you back. Whent he elders told me you were going on a vision quest I was worried. At your age..."

She cut him off angrily, "The spirits watch after me young cub, you would do well to remember that! Young people today..." If there was one thing that angered her, it was his disbelief in the spirits that had guided his people and protected them for centuries beyond memory. Like so many of the young he saw magic as a tool that could be explained by their lab coat wearing ferrets. She cursed and stumpednoisily into the kitchen.

Ningeogapik made a show of slamming pans and cupboard doors as she prepared them both coffee. Chinoua took it all in stride, never losing his characteristic grin, and settled into one of her chairs idly toying with his equipment belt. He was of course waiting for her to speak.

'Good' she thought, let him wait. She quietly prepared the coffee, setting the pot on a tray along with some sugar and creamer.As she served Chinoua a cup he smiled and took a sip.

"Thank you very much grandmother." She nodded and took a swallow. It was a good blend, something Chinoua had paid for at that corporate duty free store in Anchorage last year. When she set her cup down she was ready to speak.

"You're welcome Chinoua."

Chinoua paused and began. "The elders say you have been having bad dreams Grandmother. They say you have been having a difficult time sleeping. You look like you have lost weight Grandmother. I am worried. The family is worried." Ningeogapik snorted. Chinoua was her only grandchild to visit her, her own children had long since moved as far away from this harsh land of ice years ago. Chinoua was all she had left.

"The elders are worried Grandmother. They think you may have the sickness"

Ningeogapik nearly laughed. "The elders are fools. Old men with dull spears who lie about the number of seal they caught in their youth. You would be wise to ignore much of what they say."

"Grandmother..."Chinoua chortled slightly, this was one of the most difficult things he had ever had to say to anyone. He loved the stubborn old woman."Grandmother, there is this home in Juneau, they take good care of people. I've looked at the brouchures..." Chinoua's voice trailed off. He knew she wouldn't even think about it.

Ningeogapik stared at him, she knew the man loved her like he did his own mother. "Chinoua, I have work to do. You should get back, people need the Sheriff."

As he left she could only hope he never realized why she stayed.

Red Snow

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Thu Oct 02, 2003 10:11 pm

The Coldest show on Earth!

That much was for damn sure Mike Cruea thought. He had been a "roadie"for years now- a life filled with hard drinking, harder drugs and fast women. He had taken the Aztechnology gig as a way out of the hectic, and often fatal hard rock scene. He had been there when the bigs had fallen, and when the littles had risen from the gutters. That was his talent. he could spot a winner from a mile away.

He had always had a lucky streak. He had won his first car, a bajillion matrix mail in contests, and rarely lost at the slots. It was rare day when he didn't land on his feet. Looking at Barrow from the chopper as it circled, he wondered if his luck had finally run out on him, like a woman running from her abusive husband.

Mike sighed and tooka swig from his thermos. He wondered for the millionth time who the fuck thought of this damn idea, and how he would wring their necks if he ever found them.

The rest of the advance team was in the chopper with him, not that he related to any of those prepubscent, new age power bar eating fuckers. They had never drunk till they passed the hell out, fucked till they were raw in places they didn't know exsisted-nor would they. They all ran, didn't smoke and their disdain for people who did was evident.

"Fuck them." He muttered, not that anyone could hear him over the beat of the blades. He had the clout to make a show like this happen, the knowledge to put it together, and the balls to keep it together. Plus he was in charge, so fuck 'em all.

Death Maiden, KILL, Mega Rat! UrgeOverRide, THOR!, and Mettallica- it was hell of a line up, and one hell of a mess. He had to make sure everything was perfect. Lucky for him it was a relatively small crowd, and most of the revenues would be from the pay per view.

As they landed he leapt from the choper, lighting a nicstick with a smooth practiced motion. He ignored the looks from his staff and stepped clear of the landing pad. As he stepped down the steps Mike exhaled enjoying the feeling the nicotine gave him.

Barrow was a small town, only 5000 or so people actually lived here full time, during the summer months it wasn't much more. Several corporations had a presence here, which accounted for the majority of the inhabitants. He had seen the natural gas fields from the sky,as well as off shore oil rigs further out. He knew most of these operations relied on highly automated processes and used few workers. Mike grinned. his concert would be the biggest thing to happen here since the white man first intorduced sugar.

As he stepped inside the small terminal, he sought out the john-it had been along flight and he needed to piss like a race horse. As he stepped into the mens room a hand grasped him by the shoulder, and he shivered.

"What the fuck.." his words were cut off by a gasp as the hand clamped down, driving him to his knees. Mikes' eyes watered and he tried to remove the hand, but recoiled when he felt the bare skin.'So Cold!' What the hell was happening?

"Well well well. Hi Mike." The voice was barely a whisper and it chilled him to the bone.

"Who the fuck are you? Let me go ass-"The hand tightened its grip and he pissed himself.

"Now thats not nice is it? Listen carefully Mikey, very carefully-your life depends on it. I have some friends coming to visit real soon, and we're real intrested in whats going to happen during the concert..."

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:25 am

Samuel Smith inhaled deeply, the windows to the small twin engine plane were open, and it was the first time he had left the city in about five years, and the very first time he had ever passed through the Salish Shidhe nation. Emiko sat next to him, jacked into her portable, most likely making calls to their various brokers and real estate agents. She handled most of their business transactions, it was a talent she had. Hi smind wandered briefly to other talents that she posessed, grinning as he remembered the previous night. She was indeed very very talented.

"What are you grinning like an idiot for?" her voice was like velvet, rich and smooth. She smiled as she unplugged the cable, and wrapped her arms around him, oblivious to their hired pilot, licking her lips just slightly she feathered kisses across his own lips, and he felt his blood flow begin to reverse course."Another week and we are going to be very very rich Mr. Smith."

Samuel frowned only slightly as she dropped her left hand into his lap, deftly unbuttoning his denim trousers invoking a small giggle from her. She leaned in closer as she began to manipulate his anatomy and whispered "Don't look so upset lover, the fun has just barely begun."

He whispered back, "But the pilot..." She hushed him with a finger, and looked for a second at the pilot who seemed to take no notice of their activities, then as she turned back he could see that murderous fire in her eyes he loved so much, "He won't be a worry for long..." As her voiced trailed off his breathing hitched slightly and then he closed his eyes....

Interlude

Emil Lang sank back into the leather chair, relaxing. Unlike a number of his kind he enjoyed flying, it was conveinant, it was relaxing, and most of all as opposed to doing it himself it was comfortable-not to mention the difficulty navigating by the stars as held. He had always been able to insinuate himself quickly into the cattles world, and he made use of their industrial advances with an ease that was almost reckless amongst his kind. Maybe it was a byproduct of having been born during the first industrial revolution. He chuckled, and closed his eyes.

The flight from Moscow would take him first to Tokoyo, where he would transfer to another plane which would take him Juneau. From there he would have to charter a plane or boat to get to Barrow. He mulled over the idea of what was going to happen then. It was the first time in over a thousand years that his kind had gathered in this way or in these numbers. Not since Magna cart had been signed had a gathering of this size been attempted. Even after the reawakening of magic, and his kinds "acceptance" as a part of the natural order of things, most men knew little to nothing about the creatures they had dubbed "Vampires".

As he opened his eyes and glanced at his watch he saw that several hours had passed. He looked around the cabin at the sleeping passengers, caged victims in his eyes. A stewardess glanced out from the curtain seperating the crew and first class passengers, she smiled when she saw him awake, and after a second she stepped from behind the red curtain and over to his chair.

"Is there anything I can do to make your flight more comfortable sir?" Her eyes were wide, expressive and Emil could see the invitation there. He concentrated his will, and used his minds eye to search her aura. As he smiled and exhaled huskily he manipulated her astral template in subtle ways, taking her desire and increasing it ten fold.

"Yes, yes there is in fact something you can do." He caressed her face with his hand, the chill of death and the excitemnet of lust made her shutter, as her eyes fluttered close he spoke in a low whisper that he knew only she could hear. "Oh Natalia, what a beautiful face you have, so pretty, so innocent. Filled with so much energy."

As he led her back into the first class lavatory, he chuckled. It was a risk to do this, but thats what he lived for. The thrill of the hunt, the enjoyment one took from a particularly clever toy. As he closed the door to the lavatory he cast a spell which ensure no one would hear any of her cries, after all nothing beat an inflight snack.

Interlude

Ms. Johnson only used the cell phone as a prop, she really had no need of it. When her team had set up coverage of the building, this hall had been wired for sound, and every word she said was easily audible to her team leader. They had refrained from cracking into Smith's system for a number of reasons. She was sure they'd only get one shot, and she wanted to make sure the runners would exhaust every avenue-it was a well known fact that people fell into routines and started thinking in certain ways. A sort of tunnel vision. It was her hope that these outsiders might be able to se something that they had missed.

She reviewed what she knew for sure. Smith had taken the samples from the HMHVV studies-of course Aztechnology was being tight lipped with just how many. She cursed the intercorporate polotics that kept her company, Universal Omnitech from being trusted completely by those damn fools. Smith had almost certainly run, but as to the where, someone must be or have been helping him run. His tracks were gone completely. They couldn't even find half the people Smith might have utilized and the other half would rather remove their own spleen with a rusty spoon then talk to "Some gawd damned Azzie goons" as it so eloquantly put on several occassions. She also wondered who had put the word out that they were Aztechnology-even if they weren't, it had hampered their investigation unbelievably.They had been forced to hire some outside help-even that had been an uphill battle. her superiors had argued against bringing the team into play; she had to threaten and cajole a number of them, and the rest were eventually convinced by the sheer terror of what could happen with these samples in the wrong hands-or worse in competitors hands.

The team she had assembled was heavy on what she dubbed "Social graces", and a bit light on fire power-Bly filled that role nicely as long as she didn't suffer some sort of cyberpsychotic break down midjob.. The Indian was unexpected bonus-they hadn't asked for him, but since the hermetic they had lined up was a no show, when Inuk had come in his place she was for some strange reason satisfied. The Indian obviously knew something beyond what was apparently evident-She had learned along time ago that when the spirits speak you listen.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:30 am

"My people will be here momentarily." Ms. Johnson announced as she nonchalantly walked back into the apartment. Arthur mearly nodded as he sat deep in thought. "Inuk I was wondering if you would mind giving the place the once over. Our hermetics have been through once, but well in my experience tribal shamans have a special touch."

Inuk · Post by **Inuk** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:56 am

Inuk crinkled his face some more in confusion until the meaning of her words became clear to him. Kabloonuk and their misconceptions. He considered correcting her, but didn't care nearly enough. "I will look," he said instead, and set about investigating the apartment.

This was how city men lived here, he supposed. There was no life, no nature, all hard angles and plastic, millions of years of clams pumped from beneath his home and sent here to be turned into...everything, apparently. He could not see a surface not made by the hands of man. Life in his home was sparce, and valued accordingly. These men had forgotten that in their land of plenty.

Perhaps he was being unfair. Perhaps this man had simply moved everything valueable from his home. Perhaps others here were not like him. But looking at the others in the rooms, their ease in this place, he doubted it all.

The spirits spoke quietly here, with all life removed, replaced with long-dead things. The lone quiet voice hummed softly at the base of his neck, like a generator churning in the distance. It, too, was artificial, spirits and power bound by man, but he could feel it, and he let it pull him in as he had been pulled here. In the room there was a bed of sorts, a great puffy thing he couldn't imagine lying in. And at the back of it, a closet, and therein, the faint glow of power, quietly working to quiet itself. Something was hidden here.

He returned to the main room where the others had gathered and said, "In his closet, a false door. Hidden by magic. Come, come." He leaned his head in the direction of the room and led the way.

Bly · Post by **Bly** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 5:32 am

Nothing but an empty pill box, a boxed bar of soap, bandages and alcohol. Had anything been there previously, the others had taken it. Bly shut the mirrored medicine cabinet and caught her image in the mirror. She stared for a moment, noticing an age progression that she was sure had transgressed overnight. Her face seemed torn and her laugh lines had practically faded, or so it seemed, from the deep entrenched impressions they had once left.

Bly scanned the bathroom a bit more, but saw nothing. Humoring herself, she lifted the cover of the toilet She thought to herself, 'Why yes Ms. Johnson! A note containing a confession, his location, and contact information were found right here, affixed securely to the bottom of the lid.' Bly grinned ever so slightly. Her sense of humor was one of the few remains of her father that she was able to carry within herself.

Exiting the bathroom, Bly saw the group gathered in the main room. She briskly glided over to see what was going on."In his closet, a false door. Hidden by magic. Come, come," the man who called himself 'Inuk' had said. A false door, eh?, she thought to herself, but conceeded to follow the group to the room with a subtle, but controlling curiousity.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 6:16 am

Excerpt from Frommers Guide to Alaska, 2003

Juneau (June-oh) hustles and bustles like no other city in Alaska. The steep downtown streets echo with the mad shopping sprees of cruise-ship passengers in the summer tourist season and the whispered intrigues of politicians during the winter legislative session. Miners, loggers, and ecotourism operators come to lobby for their share of Southeast's forest. Lunch hour arrives, and well-to-do state and federal bureaucrats burst from the office buildings to try the latest restaurant or brown-bag on one of the waterfront wharves, the sparkling water before them and gift store malls behind. The center of town becomes an ad hoc pedestrian mall as the crush of people forces cars to creep
There's plenty to see in Juneau, and it's a good town to visit because the relatively sophisticated population of government workers supports excellent restaurants and amenities not found elsewhere in Southeast. Alaska's most accessible glacier, the Mendenhall, is in Juneau, and businesses ranging from the fish hatchery to the brewery to an abandoned mine have set up tours for visitors. There are three good museums, too. Juneau is also a starting point and travel hub for outdoor activities all over the northern Panhandle: you'll likely pass through on your way to Glacier Bay or virtually anywhere else in the region. The outdoors is always close at hand in Juneau. You can start from the capitol building for a hike to the top of Mount Juneau or Mount Roberts, or up the Perseverance Trail that leads in between. Sea-kayaking and whale-watching excursions are nearby, as well as some of Alaska's most scenic tide pooling and beach walking.
Downtown, the crush of visitors can be overwhelming when many cruise ships are in port at once, and the streets around the docks have been entirely taken over by shops and other touristy businesses. Many of these are owned by people from outside who come to the state for the summer to sell gifts made outside. But only a few blocks away are quiet mountainside neighborhoods of houses with mossy roofs, and only a few blocks farther are the woods and the mountains, populated by bear, eagles, and salmon.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 6:37 am

There were only ten tables in the Summit. It was by far the most exclusive restaurant in Juneau. After the awakening Juneau had briefly been subjected to an immense population boom, but as the new comers faced the hardships of TransPolar Aleut's natural wonders, most went back home. The Summit still only sat ten tables. It was the only four star restaurant in TP-A, and the halibut with spinach and Grand Marnier sauce on mashed potatoes was considered one of its choicest dishes.

Samuel Smith savored the flavors in his mouth, enjoying that every day from here on out would bring him the best-the best food, the best wines, his hearts desires.

Emiko's own Jerusalem Artichoke and Coriander Soup lay half finished as she spoke quietly into her cell phone. Samuel knew from experience she was angry. She was always edgey after killing someone. the pilot had struggled, and as a result she had several well disguised bruises on her forearms. He knew some sort of trouble is brewing.

As she hung up, she toyed with her food slightly, and then finally she spoke.

"We can't get a plane out of here. Storm brewing. We'll have to over land. It will take us nearly two weeks."

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 6:37 am

Red Snow was falling. She was young again. She was young and healthy. The snow was red though. Strange she thought briefly. Red snow, and pain. Pain and snow thats red. She was running, running away Falling falling into the red snow, so cold. Not falling, pushed, torn, bruised, beaten, cold. Must hide from the snow....Red Snow

"RED SNOW"

Inuk · Post by **Inuk** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:36 am

Once everyone had gathered around, Inuk crouched down and pressed a hand to the wall. There was an audible click, but to the eyes of those assembled, the man's hand simply appeared to pass through the wall. He withdrew it, and a piece of the wall popped out onto the floor. The observers could see a cubby built into the wall, and inside, a safe with its door ajar.

Inuk pulled out the contents. He passed the key and the credstick to the nearest person without even looking, and began leafing through the maps himself. Finally, he laughed, deep and low in his throat, a sound so uncharacteristic of him that Simon laughed reflexively with him. He threw the guidebooks onto the thick bed and said only, "Alaska."

Bethyaga · Post by **Bethyaga** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 1:28 pm

"Hah!" Taking a calculated risk, Simon claps a hand gently on Inuk's shoulder, "And here I've been doing this the hard way all these years." He turns over the travel brochures, and says idly to the group, "I think we may be joining our new friend on vacation."

Simon's spirits lift at the prospect of Alaska. Finally, to be in his element. And then he eyes Inuk carefully, if I'm feeling like a fish out of water, imagine the Inuit. Simon ponders a moment this newfound affinity with the bizarre shaman. Maybe Johnson's casting agent knew what he was doing after all.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 7:42 pm

Ms. Johnson cautiously smiled. They were good. maybe this wouldn't be such a wash after all."Looks like we have one more lead to check out now."

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 4:37 am

The maintainence team that arrived was anything but. The two men Ms. Johnson let into the apartment were professionals. Both were built largeish-both over six feet, both muscled, both lean with wide shoulders and square jaws. They spoke briefly with Ms. Johnson, then one took a position by the outer door while the other began unpacking equipment from the black equipment bag he carried. As Arthur moved away from the machine, the technician slid into the office chair. he began to hook a small variety of machines into the desk top. For a while he worked in silence, then after a few minutes he turned in the chair and said, "We're in."

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 6:07 am

"... упование I все из necassary aarrangements были сделаны, по мере того как они были бы самые несчастливые для наших взаимных intrests, котор нужно потерять на безумной прихоти, мой молодой друг... задерживает будет inveitable, вы понять что... .flights будет приезжать не более скоро после этого заход солнца на последний день... Emil увидит к остальноям расположений. Я уверен вы найдет... intresting место, несмотря на затруднения. Пожалуйста обеспечьте пакеты наилучшим образом позаботьте для, по мере того как они чувствительны к температуре, не то, котор я должен remind вы...."

Bethyaga · Post by **Bethyaga** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 4:03 am

Simon listens intently, and his eyebrows raise significantly.

"Honey," he inquires sweetly, "What sort of equipment do we have that we can bring Mr. Smith's 'materials' home with? Hazmat suits? Is he referring to bio-agents or photosensitive media or what?" Despite the seeming serious of the question, Simon's tone is casual and airy, as if the final answer is irrelevant to the forward momentum of the mission.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 2:45 am

Ms. Johnson looks cooly at Simon Blackfoot, almost surprised at his choice of words. Stepping back from the desk, and the machine slightly she considers what she should say in reply. Finally she begins to speak quietly.

"Hazmat suits might be useful if it weren't for several minor issues-the material isn't generally air or contact vectored. It is a tailor made RNA viral upgrade. It only works on those with the exsisting condition. it is my sincere hope we don't encounter anyone who is 'infected' so to speak, the ramnifications would be...well intresting is a mild expressive. No,latex gloves should suffice, as well as utilizing a cooling system-the breed is significantly more virulent in warmer weather."

Ms. Johnson wondered just how much of what she said they'd buy....

Bethyaga · Post by **Bethyaga** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 3:06 am

Simon catalogues the information for future reference. Quite interesting.

"No sweat then. I realize you left it vague, and we all respected that, but once you throw Alaska into the mix, with the prospect of making a few border crossings, with our whatever-it-is..." He grins enough to accentuate his tusks, "It just got me curious."

Simon allows his attention to be diverted to the technicians at the flickering screen.

Bly · Post by **Bly** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 4:16 am

Bly thought about the prospect of Alaska and could barely keep the grin from surfacing on her face. As she watched the others, no one seemed to be shocked, overly disappointed or dismayed by the announcement of their destination. Bly sensed that something about the situation was already a bit more calculated than it was appearing. "Alaska" was a great word to hear. Far better than some of the options that could have come floating from that hole in the wall. She looked over the credstick that the Inuit had passed to her and handed it off to Arthur, figuring he may have more sense of carefully extracting the evidence without any accidents.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 4:45 am

Derrick considered Ms. Johnson's words carefully as Bly palmed the credstick into his hands. As they had talked the "maintainence" workers packed their equipment. he had been distracted from her words briefly as he scanned for logos and or emblems on their obviously customized equipment. He knew they were dealing with Aztechnology, even if it was the slight seperation that was Universal Omnitech, and one thing his experience had taught him was a healthy distrust of those people. would this be another street legend? Would he be another runner dealing with the twisted trickster?

He cleared these thoughts from his mind as he looked the cred stick over. It was colored silver, which meant its limit was higher than many, but no where near the end of the line as far as these things went. he had a certified cred reader, but that was at home. A pretty nice investment for three hundred nuyen. He also had some people he wanted to speak to before too long, shake the trees so to speak, but first he'd better make sure he had some more details.

"So let me get this straight Ms. Johnson, this Smith took something that could be real dangerous? How dangerous? I mean are we talking end of the world is neigh, or we talking burn your hand on a hot stove? Not to sound too mercenary, but often the type of goods to be recovered can dictate the measures used, both to defend it, and retrieve it.Is this stuff so rare Smith would kill for it? what about the people he is obviously selling to? And for that matter what do you mean by generally it isn't vectored via air or contact? Is it or isn't it? And whats this drek about ramnifications?"

He chopped his words off angrily. She was playing this close to the vest, which meant it was sensitive, but damnit he hated playing chess not knowing what pieces his opponent had on the board. Maybe his angry runner act would buy some information, at the very least by rattling her cage he was letting her know he was paying attention to what the score was.

Inuk · Post by **Inuk** » Mon Oct 20, 2003 10:56 pm

Inuk stood smoothly, not dislodging his companion's hand. In his quiet voice, he said, "What must be done before we may leave?"

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Mon Oct 20, 2003 11:19 pm

Derrick sprung out of the chair, lighting a nicstick in a fluid motion he inhaled the acrid smoke, feeling the effects of the nicotine almost immediately. He paced for a second and then spoke. "I need a few days to talk to some people. I think we should check some other leads out, and I definitely think someone should check out his work station, and his coworkers and friends." As he said this Derrick clearly faced Simon Blackfoot and Bly. "Everyone have some way of getting ahold each other? A phone, pager whatever?" he clearly was wondering what the Indian might say here, but pressed on "I'll need a couple days minimum. We can't go into this thing blind."

((OOC The GM says do legwork now!!!*giggle* Ask 32 he'll explain))

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 6:54 am

Ms. Johnson considered Derricks words just long enough to seem appropriate before she began speaking.

"Good questions Mr. Arthur, lets see if I can assuge your fears. Mr. Smith didn't actually kill anyone, yet, that we know of. his removal of the materials was nonviolent, although it almost certainly had to have been planned with that option in mind. So I consider Mr. Smith potentially dangerous. Potentially armed. The facts are I simply don't know enough to answer that."

"The materials are a RNA viral modifier, that as i understand it, is hoped to be used to cure several metaviruses. This is propierty data, so I trust all of you not to dabble in the advanced thaumaturgical genome market!" Honey flashed he million yen smile at her own joke. "Purely theoretical stuff-it hasn't been tested. So again, who knows?" As if to emphasize her point she shrugged her shoulders. "Please be assured that if the materials prove to be an imminent danger to our persons I will of course be open to renogiations of our previous monetary agreements."

"As to who he is selling to, well I could throw some guesses out there, but nothing too solid. Lets assume for safeties sake they'd kill us all, and go from there. Better to err on the side of caution than wind up in body bags."

She watched as Derrick considered just what she had said, digesting. As he exhaled he nodded.

"Okay then, lets blow this popsicle stand. I need to get back to my ride, and set up some time with friends." Derrick grinned.

As they locked the apartment and headed back for the elevator bank Ms. Johnson noticed something about the Indian. He had been watching the exchange much closer than she had thought.Inuk was definitely more than what met the eye.

Serious Paul · Post by **Serious Paul** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 11:35 pm

Ms. Johnson pulled slowly out of the garage, pausing only to allow the hydraulic door to scan them and allow their exit. She drove quickly and competently through the city, back to the original departure spot the zeppelin had collected them all from. Inuk sat up-front, the runners and their liaison having learned on the way there that the Inuit's very strong smell was best left as far from everyone as possible. Although the close confines of the Cadillac left much to be desired on that count, Ms. Johnson's subtly-opened passenger window allowed enough ventilation for the smell of raw meat and dirty Eskimo to at least dissipate as fast as it built up.

They were passing over the Eastlake Ave. Bridge, which split Portage Bay from Lake Union and joined the UDub campus they had put behind them to North Broadway. The bridge had been just recently reopened, and it was now a tall, double-decked ribbon of plascrete, hundreds of feet above the water, a white defiance against a darkening sky, lit by pale purple streetlamps. Despite safety concerns voiced by various citizen's groups, the Seattle government had only installed the legal minimum one-meter safety fences, and Ms. Johnson drove carefully, feeling the pull of the wind at the Cadillac.

From the back seat, Bly, Simon, and Derrick all watched out their windows – Bly, in the middle, took turns looking out the front and looking out the sides – but none could turn enough comfortably to look out the rear, trusting their employer's representative to do that. Indeed, she dutifully checked her mirrors regularly, but it was between cycles of observation that the man next to her said, "We are being followed. The Jeep, the sedan, the motorcycle."

Ms. Johnson looked out the mirror, and sure enough, there they were; the SUV had maneuvered into a position almost next to her, with the sedan behind. A motorcycle she'd seen earlier – damn, she wished she'd been watching more closely! – rode outrigger, ready to pursue if they made a break for it. They must have been fairly good; the traffic was light, and if they hadn't been about to spring their trap, she doubted even the Inuit would have noticed them. She heard the runners prepping themselves, then looked to Inuk for comment. He was releasing his seatbelt; as he did so, he said, "All of them must die." With that, he stepped out of the vehicle.

Reflexively, Ms. Johnson slammed on the brakes, fortunately forcing the tails' hands. The SUV swerved to box them against the guardrail, and caught them in the rear quarter panel. She fought the wheel, trying to keep the car moving forward, lest they turn too far and flip. As the Cadillac came to a grinding halt against the fresh white paint of the railing, the BMW bumped into them from behind, and the SUV overshot them slightly, to end up angled in front of their bumper. They were trapped, with the passenger-side doors blocked by the railing, and the driver's side doors facing into the killing zone between the SUV and the luxury car.

From behind, no one moved, but quickly seven people bailed out of the 4x4, a mixed bag of orks and humans, with one massive troll, all of whom carried clubs. Ms. Johnson had enough time to check her mirror and see that their Inuit was nowhere to be seen.

Eliahad · Post by **Eliahad** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 3:24 am

"The words, "Shit" and "Fuck" come to mind, though not necessarily in that order. Does anyone. Any thoughts, because I think we're in a wee bit of trouble. And do you have any firearms in this rig, I sort of left mine behind, didn't think we'd get anything past security," Derrick starts feeling around the bottom of the car for anything useful,, "Anything in the trunk, tire irons, anything?"

Bly · Post by **Bly** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 4:02 am

As Arthur ran away at the mouth, Bly reached over him and grabbed the metal shank doubling as a section of the door panel. Wedging her fingers around the end, she ripped the metal piece from the door panel.

Sitting back up, she looked at Arthur, "Man, shut up and take this shiv. Use it."

Arthur's face seemed to look at Bly in a confused fashion as he took her make-shift weapon. Bly responded quickly and sarcastically, "Be creative."

As she quickly turned back to face the other door, she caught a disgusted stare coming from Ms. Johnson. "In fifteen seconds, this Cadillac is going to look like a piece of Swiss cheese. Forget about the damn door panel!"

Bethyaga · Post by **Bethyaga** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 4:33 am

Simon nods in agreement with Derrick, "Well, I suppose they don't want to talk, so there goes my best weapon."