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Alanna frowns a moment, but then turns her TAP off. She takes a few breaths, letting herself get used to the lack of background noise and constant chatter from both the commercial society (muchly diminished now) and her own apps.
"Pleased to meet you, John. I'm Wraith, this here's 1dr0meda, an' the chill man on the wheel is Cruiser," Wraith says, her eyes dividing her time between John and the far-off mob. "Yes, ghosts do sound weird, but you are the local, so we'll give you benefit of doubt for the now.
So, we're looking at an honest-to-goodness postapocolyptica Mad Max Escape from LA War War Never Changes kinda thing here, ya?
Oddly enough, yeah, I can grasp that.
We still haven't gotten to the part of -why- the Court wanted to take an interest in your internal organs, but I'm sure we'll get to that.
Anyway, yes, John, I'm a small-time smuggler, and I'd love to know where to take this. Cash is king, but I got a small ring going, so trade in some useless, non-drinkable valuables like gold, gems, spare firearms, family heirlooms and the like can also work.
So, you just go by John, huh? Seems like you need a handle. We met you while you were running, and you were in the shadows of the buildings, so, a person who runs in the shadows should be called a...
...nope, I have no idea what you'd call that kinda person. 'John' will have to do until we think of something better.
Thirsty?"
Ghiv eyeballs the men in the elevator
We will accompany the hybrid. Ghiv says as he watches the men
"Ghosts are supernatural. But the same term is often used in a figurative sense. Please tell us more about these 'ghosts,' " 1dr0meda asks John.
When the simpet cat stops moving, 1dr0meda rummages in her pack and pulls out some data cables, which she connects from the beat-up drone on the seat next to her to the inactive cat. She monitors whatever data is transferring and eventually disconnects the cables again. The simpet comes back to simlife and jumps to the ledge behind the back seat to watch the world roll behind the cruiser.
She gives a non-verbal communication to Syzygy to use the cat as cover and when other people are around to limit communication to non-verbal except in dire emergencies. "For now, watch for anything following us," she instructs.
To John, she says, "This is my simcat, Syzygy. I've made a few modifications to her so she may not simulate a cat very well. But she's a useful lookout."
Neon looks a tad longingly down at the attackers, then gives the field commander a nice long look, Hmmm, yummy she thinks to herself, before looking back to the suit and Kit.
"I go where Ms. Yukosawa goes." she says.
===Slums===
"I mean, they gave me a handle," says John after a second, nodding and seeming a little calmer with your TAPs off. "But I don't really like it. Skinny, if it's easier for you." He glances around, looking back at the angry crowd that's disappearing into the distance. He turns back around, peering through the windshield. "Stay on the ground, and take that right. Follow the direction of the freeway. You're gonna go close to downtown." He licks his lips as the last word sinks in. "Yeah, I'd love some water."
"If you're willing to trade, and you'd like guns and stuff that's worth something on the outside, you're gonna need to talk to YT Moses. He runs all the gangs in Phoenix now, 'cept the Triads. He even got the Crips and the Bloods to work together. Most people down here don't have creds no more on account of keeping their TAPs off." John scratches the stiff little cat, cooing under his breath for a second. "Hi, Syzygy. Christ, a car, a simpet. This feels too damn normal. Ghosts, right. They're all over, especially in the financial district. I don't really have the nitty-gritty, but they work on some hyper-reality s*~%. Like a holotag that can hurt you. There's a chick in Moses' circle who could probably tell you more. I'm no techie."
===Nexxon===
"Fine, fine! Just go!" Says the suit, backing down as his guard opens up the door. As you step through, one of the windows is punctured by a stout, carbon fiber hammer. One of the chromed runners pulls it back, the glass shattering unevenly, the cracks not spreading through the pane. He turns it around to the clawed half, going for another strike. The elevator doors slam shut, leaving the three of you just outside the elevator with one Nexxon soldier in tow.
With a clearer view to the ground floor, you can see that they've torched the area surrounding the elevator on the first floor, and it's still burning and smoking heavily from some sort of cheap napalm. "Shelter in place," says the soldier in a monotone voice. "The guards will take care of the riff-raff." He sounds sure, but the screams and screeches from below make you much less so. Below, some of the runners point up in your direction, shouting something you can't quite hear from where you are.
Neon gives the solider a flat look, and says "Yeah , right."
Her head swivels to look down a the attacking runners, trying to discern what they're saying...
"Thank you for all the information. From outside Phoenix, no one knows what has happened here. What are people saying happened to cause all this?"
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Alanna unwraps the plastic from a column of dirt-cheap paper-thin water bottles and fills one it from the water drum she's sitting on. "Well, yes, I -am- willing to trade, and I -would- like guns n' stuff and things of value elsewhere. So, yes, this YT Moses sounds like a wiz-bang chummer to talk to.
Your eminent help in finding him and setting up an affable meeting is the price of this pint of water. See? I can haz barter!"
She hands him the water. "Mind you, we are, technically, supposed to be meeting some friends of ours, but I don't think that a minor detour to make a profitable transaction would make much difference.
What do you think, 'dromeda? I'm sure it'll be okay.
How much trouble could the others be in?"
===Nexxon===
"With armed guards? Yeah right. Sweep the first floor, I'll head up." The handsome one from the door moves quickly, heading for a flight of stairs. He puts a hand up to that ancient earpiece, and a second later...
A shot rings out from somewhere below and the soldier escorting you keels over. One of the intact pieces of glass pane on the building shatters. Behind you, there's a hallway lined with thick doors every few feet. To the sides, the building fans out into what looks like meeting rooms on one side and cubicles on the other.
===Slums===
Johnny pulls the bottle of water from your hand and chugs about half of it. "Never thought I'd miss city tap water," he mutters, before taking another slow sip. "It all started with this thing called the Five-Five-Five. Somebody started telling all the gangers what to do over the Deep. It was like the voice of God, always keeping everybody safe from the cops, keeping people out of trouble." He glances out the window as you start to shift toward downtown, keeping his eyes out and constantly checking alleys. "The voice got more frequent, and everybody always did what it said, since it was always right. It talked about something big on the 5th of May, and to obe ready. When it rolled around, the cops shot a kid, and the gangers started a riot. Then when the cops rolled out to take care of the riot, they blew the dam and killed a s$%@load of cops. I don't know who cut all the lines out of the city, but that happened the same night."
"Moses came outta nowhere and started pulling the gangs together. He gave good advice just like the Five-Five-Five." Johnny takes another mouthful of water. "By the time people figured out he wasn't the same guy, he was already in charge of half the city. Everybody else fell in pretty quick. Let me hop up front and I'll get ya past the gates."
As the soldier keels over, Neon looks at the suit, "You have any more like him around? " she asks, nodding towards the 'riff-raff' downstairs, "Their leader's on the way up the stairs. We gonna talk to him , Kit?"
"Hell no, their fight is with Nexxon, not with us!" she half-shouts. "Let us at least get away from this window, now!"
Once they've moved farther down the hallway, she turns to the suit and says "Get us to a safe place, now - if I am not alive, you cannot get at my company, can you?"
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Alanna nods along, fascinated by the wide turn of events. She realizes that she has valuable information, since it seems that no one outside the city really knows this.
She determines to live long enough to at least get this out.
"Uh-huh. Uh-huh. 555. Voices. Dam blew. Moses. ... Wait, so did this 555 never show up again? Did it go away as soon as the dam blew? How do you know he's not the same as the 555?"
Not one to wait for answers, she calls over to Cruiser. "Cruiser, pull over and help me with the drum in the passenger to let Skinny ride shotgun an' get us through the 'gates', whatever that is."
Surprising herself, when they pull over, she does help Cruiser with the barrel, maneuvering it into the space vacated by Skinny as he sits in the passenger seat.
===Slums, Close to the South Side of Downtown===
Cruiser gives Alanna a slightly awkward and protracted, but very grateful nod when she helps out. Despite Jimmy's heavy talk and the dismal surroundings, his mood notably improves.
Jimmy stiffens not long after getting into the front seat. Distantly, the sound of gunfire winds its way between the skyscrapers of the downtown sprawl."Take another right," he says to Cruiser. "We're gonna hook over to the east side. I was hoping we could sneak through downtown, but it sounds like a bad place to be."
"Moses isn't God," he says simply to Alanna's question. "Good guy, great leader, but he's f##!ed up before. When it was the voice, it never f~#&ed up. Plus, he admitted it once we asked, but everybody relied on him at that point, so..." Cruiser slows dramatically down to school zone speed as he navigates around parked cars, some of them damaged and shattered, littering the four-lane road. Jimmy navigates him close, and then tells him to slow down even further a short way along the road.
"Head in through there," he says, rolling down the window and leaning his head out. Closely-packed smashed-up cars dominate a two-lane road that passes through a tall fence lined with trees, forcing the car to make almost u-turns to squeeze past them. The small, greenish area (though it looks like the grass is mostly dying) gives you the impression that its a nature preserve of some sort. The car continues, heading toward a couple of low, squat buildings and Jimmy waves to a couple of gangers with face masks and snub-nosed rifles posted on the sides of the road. They give him a wave back and let you pass.
"Welcome to the Phoenix Zoo," says Jimmy, gesturing for Cruiser to park in front of a wood building with a huge globe (covered in graffiti) on top. Peeled and faded lettering below the globe reads "PhxZoo", with a string of bright pink cursive below it spelling out "Hey, phx u 2". "Park it. Moses says no vehicles past here."
===Nexxon, Fourth Floor Hallway===
<"At this point all of our survival is in question,"> says the suit in Japanese. <"I will get us deper into the building."> He turns to a door and hammers in a 16-digit keycode and bends down slightly for a retinal scan. After several long seconds, the door swings open and he gestures for you to move inside. It's barely lit except for rows of blinking green and amber LEDs. Once the door slides shut again, it almost seals enough to drown out the noise of
<"It is a server room,"> he says. <"Likely not their target, and the routers and reinforced racks provide some cover."> He mutters a few choice cursewords in Japanese before putting a hand up to his neck. <"Plant-san, please tell me you are having more luck downstairs."> He remains silent for a few moments, listening to Plant's response.
<"He asks that we remain calm,"> He says. A second later, a boom shudders through the building. The suit goes pale. Somebody knocks, shave-and-a-haircut on the door to the server room. The suit, shaking, gestures to the back of the room and an unlit hallway.
Neon indicates for Kat and Ghiv to follow the suit into the more secure room, then follows herself.
She watches the suit, not understanding a word he's saying, "You talk English, maybe?" she asks, then looks back at the door, really, really tempted to tap out two-bits on the door in response.
But with a smile, she refrains and hurries the other two to follow the suit, backing up with her rifle aimed squarely at the door.
1dr0meda listened in silence to Jimmy's account of the fall of Phoenix, making some internal data searches of information she keeps in files for things that seem important enough to keep for situations like this, when she isn't able to access the GDN. She searches for significance of the number 5 or events on May 5th. She gets a few hits.
"The May 5th is the 125th day of the year, which is 5 to the third power, which is five times five times five," 1dr0meda mentions dryly. Then continues, "May 5th was the traditional day celebrated in Mexico as Independence Day, marking a decisive battle in 1862. It is also close to the traditional cross-quarter date, sometimes called May Day, adopted as International Worker's day by socialist movements in commemorating a riot on May 4th in Chicago. That was preceded by police killing two workers protesting strike breakers and precipitated by a homemade bomb that was thrown at an advancing line of police."
She pauses briefly, then adds, "It was also the day a propaganda newspaper was founded in support of the communist movement in Russia, called Pravda, which means 'Truth' in Russian. It was considered 'the voice' of the communist party and continued for the duration of the state known as U.S.S.R."
"In 2057, May 5th marked a series of attacks on factories run by simulacrum units."
Finally she stops as the negotiations at the zoo entrance are about to commence.
Edit: Knowledge (AI) roll to detect significance of 555 for AIs.
In case common knowledge of programming and other cultural events turns up anything else in Jimmy's monologue that resonates.
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Alanna gets uncomfortably silent as they delve into the depths of an obvious strong-point. She's breaking rule number two: Never go in to any place you don't know how to get out of.
Still, the risk/reward equation continues to look just over the line in the "Safe" zone. She has a product, they want a product. If they just strong-arm her, that'll mean that the multiple future water-and-goods runs she has planned won't take place, so she has more to offer than just her immediate goods.
And if they get -really- hard...she won't win, but she'll make it expensive for them.
Independently she says out loud, "Ah, well, you know what they say: It takes bullets to make money."
Alanna has no idea that's not the actual saying.
As she exits the vehicle, Alanna get out a few of the disposable water bottles and fills them up, putting them into a rucksack she slings off one shoulder.
"Everyone ready to put down roots in the community?"
===Nexxon===
The suit shakes his head toward Neon, quietly saying to Kitsune <"I know enough to recognize the word English," but the answer is no."> He points down the hallway taking brisk steps. <"There is a laboratory not far from here with spliced creatures. The doors are much more secure."
"Runners!" Says a voice from the comm closet door. It's a little hoarse from shouting, but otherwise very smooth, with a pleasant timbre. "I know enough to know hired hands when I see them. Whatever Nexxon's paying you, I probably can't match it, but they will stab you in the back as soon as they have the chance. My people are planting charges. You're not going to want to be on the fourth floor when they go."
===PhxZoo===
Jimmy and Cruiser share a long look between them at 1dr0meda's long reel of information. "I mean, I don't know if it was about any of that," says Jimmy. "Jesus. You sure you turned your TAP off?"
"I'll stay with the trailer," says Cruiser. "Wouldn't want anyone walking off with it."
"He's up past the Savannah," says Jimmy, leading you across a short bridge that looks like it used to go over a river. The grass of a large field is mostly wilted and dead, with some low, makeshift tents scattered over it. A girl with blue dreads who looks high as a kite feeds some greens to a sickly-looking genemod of a Zebra. It's stripes, instead of being black, are a rainbow of colors in a kaleidoscopic pattern. Jimmy gives her a nod as he passes that she seems not to notice. "Have a good one, Moon Unit," he mutters.
Pulling up to a round enclosure with a high-domed roof, two guards with gutterware and shotguns stop you. "Out-of-towners, says Jimmy. They want to trade."
"Nobody going in just yet. He meeting with Papa an' Billy," says one of the guards. "Besides what, you just gon' bring in some strangers in to see Moses? What if they work for the triads?"
"Yo first off, she a robot, and she white. Ish," he says, pointing to 1dr0meda and Alana. "Plus they saved me from the Queen. And they didn't even know to keep they taps off. They're from outta town, man, trust."
"Fine," says the guard, nodding to the other. He disappears inside the building. "Wait out here until he ready, though." He nods to a set of benches not far from the building that look toward the entrance. A set of double signs on either side tell you that this used to be an enclosure for lions and tigers. The lion sign has been painted over to read "JOSEPH YOUR TRUTH MOSES MARSHALL, aka YT MOSES, THE PROPHET OF SOLIDARITY". The tiger sign has been spray-painted over as well, in bright gold letters that stand out agains the darker colors of the sign.
Law 1: Don’t f&!# up.
Law 2: Nobody dies without a sit down.
Law 3: Everybody respects and protects turf even if it ain’t your own.
Law 4: You sell out your cuz, you die.
Law 5: No whining.
Law 6: Don’t die. Multiply.
Law 7: Pay up.
Neon closes her eyes and sighs, looking to the others, "If he's telling the truth, no matter where this suit takes us ....we're dead. Kit, what's the deal here with you? I want info from these bastards, but that's worthless to me if I've got a building on top of me."
She eyes the door, weighing her options...
Kitsune translates the English announcement from the comm closet (leaving out the part about Nexxon stabbing us in the back), and then asks him "<Is there a way downstairs that can take us to a back way out, or perhaps to a garage?>"
She turns to Neon and Ghiv and says "I've asked him if there's a way downstairs that leads to a back door, or a garage. Any better ideas?"
===Nexxon===
<"Explosives?"> Asks the suit. He's been going steadily more pale. He hooks an abrupt left. <"I have two ideas,"> he says, talking quickly, his hands shaking. <"The first is to wait for the backup security, which should arrive any minute."> He nods to a door marked "GEN-LAB". <"The second is, ah..."> He gestures down the hallway towards another, interior elevator. It's marked "out of order". <"If it could be pried open, we could climb.">
Translating for her team, Kitsune asks them "What about the elevator? If we could find some cloths to protect our hands, the cable should be greasy enough that we could slide down pretty easily."
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Alanna in appreciation at the list of rules. "Chill. 'Least the guy knows what he expects. Mind you, I don't track #2. How's a body gonna not die until it gets a sit down? How does that even work?"
She finally looks up the guards discussing her an' 'meda. "And, yeah, we're from out of town. You know how you know that? 'Cause the name 'Wraith' don't mean anything to. Yet. Trust me chummer, I was in town, you'd'a heard a me." She flashes him with a quick wink. "
Oh, look, I -just- got in to town and already heard a me! Boom. Winning!"
Wraith nods as if that all that the argument needs.
1dromeda makes room for Sysygy's simcat in her backpack and instructs her to play inert if anyone but her opens the pack. When she opens the pack, she will tap Sysygy 3 times and say "I'll think on that."
She gets out and stands with her back against something sturdy and keeps quiet, watching what is going on on around her.
Neon sighs again and looks at Kit and Ghiv, motioning them closer so she can talk quietly.
Her voice quiet but intense , she says "Tactically, this situation is untenable. We have an unknown force outside, that looks to have taken then the lower levels of this building. Our suit here 'claims' to have reserves on the way, but judging from the performance of one's downstairs, he can keep 'em. Our only options given are a secure lab or broken elevator shaft, both of which aren't too palatable if the building's about to be levelled. " she pauses, looking directly at Kit, "Remember what Ten-Speed told us..."the Yukosawas may still be alive underneath their own infrastructure and waging a covert war to sabotage Nexxon's attempts". These attackers outside might be working for your family. Or not. Either way, my goal here is to get information out of Nexxon. Can't do that if the building, and us, is rubble. I say we put a bullet in the suit and open the door...see what these 'guerillas' have to say."
===PhxZoo===
The guards part several minutes later, leaving a gap so two beefy men can stride through. One is tall in addition to being broad, his massive beard, flowing hair, cyberye and chainmail/leather jacket combo giving you the impression of a modern-day viking. The other is shorter, much stockier, and clean shaven from what you can see through a traditional-looking black and silver Luchadore mask. They're both followed by their own short entourage--bikers in leather and chains for the viking, hispanic gangers in their early twenties, bristling with tattoos and cyberware for the luchador.
"Papa Puentes," says Jimmy quietly to you two, nodding to the luchadore. "Billy," he says, in regard to the viking. "They lead the bikers and the hispanic gangs in the city. Three guesses which one's in charge of which."
The guards give you a nod after a minute, and Jimmy leads the way into the tent. Compared to the rest of Phoenix thus far, it gives you almost sensory overload to be inside. An old, refurb boombox is thumping an aggressive verse over a well-furnished but low-lit room. The walls have been covered in rugs and posters, but where they're peeled away you can see glass and iron bars that used to cage the animals. A cloud of hookah smoke, smelling of tobacco, weed and something minty hangs in the air.
Two more of the guards are inside, and they're the largest and most intimidating pair you've seen so far. YT Moses himself is quite large, but both cut and handsome, with a face that is largely happy and unthreatening. His skin is very dark, forming a bright contrast between himself and his excessively-long blonde boxbraids, to say nothing of his bright and shiny smile. He's the type of man who wears a three-piece suit while smoking a hookah with one hand, and holding the chokechain of an honest-to-God Bengal tiger with his other. "So," he says with a smile, his voice a pleasant rumble that forms an unsettling contrast as the tiger gives a quiet, sleepy growl. "Who's this you brung me?"
"These two are out of towners," says Jimmy, quiet and slightly shivering. "They want to trade."
===Nexxon===
The suit, unable to understand and respond to Neon, glances nervously between the three of you as he shrugs off his jacket. He gestures to the doors. <"If you can pry them open, I can get down the cables,"> he says. His eyes light on Neon, and he gulps, giving her a nervous smile.
===PhxZoo===
"Papa Puentes," says Jimmy quietly to you two, nodding to the luchadore. "Billy," he says, in regard to the viking. "They lead the bikers and the hispanic gangs in the city. Three guesses which one's in charge of which."
"Based on appearances, I would say that Papa Puentes leads ..." 1dr0meda starts to say, then stops, realizing Jimmy's question was rhetorical.
"These two are out of towners," says Jimmy, quiet and slightly shivering. "They want to trade."
Knowing that Allana can be brash, 1dr0meda decides to speak first. She watches Jimmy as he speaks to YT Moses and mimics any gestures he makes, then speaks. "We bring water to a dry land, Mr. Moses. I am Jannaharo, of the Navajoes. Allana will handle the transaction details. For myself, I will trade a portion of my share for information of the location of a friend. Her name is Miley Freeman. Last information out of Phoenix, she was serving as a medicine woman for the Coyotes."
Coming to a decision that she hopes she won't regret, she looks at Neon and says "Do it."
Not waiting to watch the results, she runs towards the door where the knocking is coming from. Stopping with just an inch between her face and the door, she shouts as loud at she can "We are *not* with Nexxon! I'm opening the door! I am unarmed!"
Waiting until Neon is finished, she motions her to put her weapon away, and unlocks and opens the door...
Ghiv shrugs In for a penny...
===PhxZoo===
"Well f*#*," says Moses, smiling broadly around a pull on the hookah. "A Navajo robot. That's a new one." He reflects for a moment, silently exhaling "Coyotes". Then, aloud, "I think I can help you girls out. Your friend gon' handle the transactions?" He glances over to Alanna, his every word exhaling a puff of smoke from deep in his lungs. "So I'm guessing you the one with the network. Oh, hold on." He waves Jimmy off. "This is a business meeting, Jake. Thanks."
"It's Joe," he mutters, leaving.
"Changes every five minutes," says Moses, taking one more pull on the hookah before handing it, and a clean plastic mouthpiece, over to Alanna. "I get a discount or a favor, since yo' friend is volunteering her share for information. What are you looking to trade?"
===Nexxon===
The door opens, and a tall, handsomeman is standing behind it. He's leanly muscular, dressed in tactical gear that fits him quite well, and an ancient black analog earpiece and curly cord wind their way up to his ear. He puts two fingers up to it and says quietly, "Hold off. Post lookouts." He looks up, unsmiling, his eyes narrowing.
"Hoi, chummer," he says in an accent that seems slightly familiar. He casts an eye over Kitsune's K-tana and gives her a polite nod. "You and I have a similar definition of unarmed," he says, nodding down to a gun in its holster on his hip. "The name's Derrick. I could use more runners who know what they're doing."
Before Neon dispatches the inconvenient suit,she grabs him by the collar of his expensive suit and hauls him over to the door of the GenLab, "Open it..." she dead pans, holding the twin barrels of her pistol against the back of his head.
Once the door to the GenLab is open, she puts him against the wall and shoots him in the forehead....
Turning from the spray of blood and brain matter, holstering the pistol, she arches an eyebrow at Derrik, "Nice layered assault downstairs, even the noobs knew what to do. " she says, taking a step toward the door, then stopping, still alert and ready, "What's your beef with Nexxon? And could you hold off on the charges for now, if there are any...there's some info here that i'd like to get first."
Looking Derrick straight in the eye, she says "I'm sorry, we are not looking for jobs as smugglers. I represent the Yukosawa family, do you know of them here in Phoenix?"
===Nexxon===
"They're holding off now, but you've only got a few minutes before Nexxon backup arrives. They've reduced forces in the city, but they're not deaf," He says to Neon. "Make it quick." As he waits for her to look, glancing nervously at his watch, he continues to talk. "Nexxon has a way in and out of the city. There are hundreds of thousands of people who aren't cut out to live here now. But Nexxon doesn't want to share."
He cocks an eyebrow towards Kitsune. "I don't mean smugglers. You know, runners? Shadow..." He trails off, considering. "Where did you three say you were from?" He thinks for a second. "And Yukosawa... I know there's a Yukosawa building in the corporate district. Is that yours?"
Ghiv eyeballs the newcomer, he's always interested in work, but everyone has secrets and Ghiv would rather know now rather than later.
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Alanna grins a little as she lags, purposefully letting 'Meda take the lead, seeing how she does in the field of fire, so to speak. Alanna nods, pleased with the outcome, and no longer able to hold her own tongue in check.
"Ha!" she exclaims, walking a step forward, taking center stage. "Ah, well, in this wild, wild crazy world, who's to say who knows what and what favors might be done for good friends. And that's what we are. You and I, Mr. Moses, or do ya prefer Y? Or just T? Can I call ya Y? Anyway, Y, you and I, we both know what we want and how to go for it. How to see a system that is broken, and people in need, and go in and fill that need. You provide leadership, food for the soul. A direction for those that lack direction and need a lift to their spirits and a gateway to the infinite.
And I? Alas, I merely am I provider of things more substantial. I move a thing from this place to that, moving from one hand to another. I only ask for enough to cover my own, increasingly substantial costs, as the happiness of my customers is it's own reward.
Speaking of which, today I bring water. Lots of water. We can discuss details, if you like. Things like how much you want now, how much you'd like later, if you want to schedule regular deliveries, and how much you can pay.
Ah, and also, since you say you are a person who knows things about people and where those people might be, I, too, am looking for someone. I was...told...that he might be around here?
Guy named Derrick. Might be employed in doing something that would involve covering his face and throwing explosives at people. Ever heard of such a man?
But regardless, let us continue to talk as friends, and who knows how...fruitful...the relationship might be?"
She ends with Smile of Warmth #3 and a Quick Eyebrow Rise, increasing feelings of Trust in the buyer by 14% and moving the "Cares about the same things I do" meter by 22%.
===Nexxon===
You have a rough picture of his team now, just from his surface thoughts. He entered with fifteen, by his counts he has thirteen alive. Someone is planting explosives on the first floor, but he doubts they'll be enough to take down the building, they're mostly just to cover their escape.
===PhxZoo===
Moses sits with his face in a silent, half-open grin for several seconds after Alanna finishes her monologue. "God-damn," he says happily, as his guards exchange glances to the side. "It was killing you to let her go first, wudn't it?" He chuckles to himself, thinking your offer over for a minute as he scratches behind the ear of his tiger. "So I know you new in town an' all, so maybe you don't understand what I was really asking."
"We got a fair amount going on here. We got Crips, Bloods, thrills, chills, gambling, booze, hoes, uppers, downers, fixers," he takes a breath as he winds himself up to Alanna's level, "Losers, winners, suits, street sams. What we need is water, but what we don't got is creds. So tell me, aside from information, what it is you actually want in exchange for that water. Because to put it bluntly, in the words of an old poet, mmmm, I want it all, baby, and I want it now. So you tell me how much collateral you're looking to cover those, how'd you call 'em? Business expenses?"
"If you're looking to set up a real route, f$+~ girl, we could use one," he says, casting an eye over you two, his face illuminated by the burning coals on the hookah. "S~&!, kids these days gotta drink every day." He reflects for a moment, his eyes sliding back to Alanna after a long second. "'Bout that Derrick. Blonde lightskin boy, right? I made up my mind. For her share, I want a favor, and I'll give y'all info on your people.'
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Alanna's smile falters and her right eyes twitches as YT gives a -dead on- description of the fair, fair Derrick. Her stomach flutters with old memories of warm nights under hot covers following cold days with lead flying around them and enduring unending torment just to scrape together enough cred to live the next day and maybe, just maybe, improve their street-rep a bit more.
Even after Spirit died...
She shakes her head a bit to banish the ghosts of the past and focuses on the task at hand. The smile returns with double-wattage as phrases and dollar signs waft through her thoughts.
"Of course! Favors, barter, information on Derrick, all of it can be weighed and measured in the pursuit of improving the lives of the people affected by the Recent Unpleasentness!
Now, were I anyone else, at the mention of your credit-poorness, I'd be forced to turn and walk away, since barter isn't worth much in every other place on the planet. But! But I, being who I am, have built a network of quality people capable of wringing convertable value out of items that many would not describe as "liquid".
Of course, such means are not cheap, and massive value is lost in the conversion, but I'm sure that we can come to some sort of an agreement.
But first, thirsty?"
Alanna offers him one of the water bottles, and also takes out one of the water purification devices, and explains its use and versatility.
"As far as numbers go, well, I'll be taking a loss, but I'm so interested in making Phoenix great again that I can let you have this initial delivery for a meager 50,000 creds in trade."
Alanna keeps the smile plastered to her face but inwardly grimaces. As much as she dealt with numbers, she never was very good at them. For barter goods, she can assume that best case is half their value for jewelry, or maybe guns and drugs, one-third if not, depending. Factor in the couple grand for the trailer, and the considerable risk of taking the time to get here...she knew she could come down from that, but she hoped not too much.
Still, it's easier to accept less than it is to ask for more.
"So," she purred, with Winning Smile #2 and Wide Eyes(earnest), "Can we do...business?"
It never hurt to get a part of their brain wondering what she looked like naked.
= 9(!)
Ghiv nods at the man. We are Runners. Get us out of this building and we can talk. And we didn't say where we are from....
Neon looks at Derrick, but ignores his question. She removes her helmet, both to get a better looks at him, but also, to be honest, to let him get a better look at her.
= 7
= 11
Anyone half-way observant could tell she liked what she saw, pupils dialated, a slight blush to her cheeks.
With a toss of her head, she attaches her helmet to her webbing, then crouches next to the dead suit and goes through his pockets, checking if he had any access card or anythign else of use...
= 6
Pocketing whatever she finds, she stands smoothly and walks to the GenLab door, pausing for a moment, "I'm from Mars....ever been?"
===Nexxon===
Inside the genelab, you can hear the faint noises of spliced creatures further in, but with a time limit you can't spend too much time looking around. Your eyes are automatically drawn to a large cylindrical tank. A pale Asian man is inside it, unmistakably dead. A readout on the tank displays "ERROR - POWER OUTAGE" and gives a date a few days prior. On the desk, there are sheaves of paper. You grab a folder with a "TRADE SECRET" cover sheet and a datadrive that reads "N32N". You'll have to look at them when you have time.
"Right, let's get going before the security catches up then," he says, beckoning to you three and leading you to the stairs, and raising an impressed eyebrow to Neon. "Can't say I have. I'll put it on the list if I ever make it out of this hellhole."
===PhxZoo===
"You..." Says Moses, inhaling on the hookah again for several long seconds before smiling, smoke leaking out of the corners of his mouth, "Are so full of s$&#, it's a wonder ya eyes don't turn..." He moves his head from side to side for a second. "Huh. They change color?" Without breaking eye contact, he wordlessly hands the water back to one of his bodyguards, who takes it, unscrews the top and thirstily drinks down about half the bottle. He and Moses share a long look. "Well, he ain't turning green, so I'm sold."
"Forty-five thou, your choice on ratio between guns and drugs, since that's the most "liquid" collateral we have. Ammo is a little more scarce, so we keep the bullets from the longarms," he says, nodding to his bodyguard, who steps back to his position, keeping the water. "To make up for that five thou I'm marking you down, I'll have my Lieutenant give you a rundown on how everything works in town since the Mess."
"I like you girls," he says, casting an eye that seems to linger slightly longer on Alanna. "So I ain't gon' lie to you about a couple things. First up, getting outta town ain't as easy as getting in. My LT can tell you more about that. Second, the Coyotes are a g#@!$#n problem, and that includes your friend Miley. They've been moving around and jacking supplies from whoever they can find. We can give you an area to look 'cause they keep moving. I'mma need you to shut 'em down somehow." He glances up to 1dr0meda, pulling a pair of tongs and shifting the coals around on the hookah. "If I had my way, I'd like them to join my folks--Solidarity. Strength in numbers. But I doubt they feel the same way. So whatever you gotta do to make 'em leave my gangers alone, get it done."
1dr0meda nodded, assenting to Moses' terms. She was struggling mightily to keep track of what was being said. Innuendo and slang always gave her trouble when dealing with humans in conversation. She had subroutines in her CPUs that tried to parse language and to read body language. Both were much more difficult programs to run than net-running or programming, at least for her. Still, as best as she could understand Allana and Moses, some kind of agreement was being reached and things would soon progress to the details of how to make the transactions. She decided Moses could be trusted and she knew she would have to do what she could to demonstrate that she could be trusted.
"Assuming we can find the Coyotes and Miley, I'll do what I can to persuade them to cooperate with your operation. I don't know for sure what their goals are. If you know history, you know Navajo are not very trusting where bilagáana--you might say, gringos--are concerned. Might be why they befriended me when I was attacked by badlands bandits.
"It is likely they mainly want to get out of Phoenix, so if we can help them do that, that would solve their problem and yours. At some point, however, it would help us to get a better idea of who our enemies are. Jimmy warned us about Ghosts, but he didn't know what they were. If you've got people who can give me a better idea of what they are and how to fight them, that would help me help you. Jimmy also mentioned a gang called 'the Court' and someone called 'the Queen.'"
===PhxZoo===
"Gringos? You'd have to ask Papa about that," says Moses jovially. "Whatever you've got to do. I understand if the ideal situation isn't going to work out." He takes another short puff and exhales through his nose. "The Queen of Scotsdale is some boho basic b+++& who lost her damn mind on the day of the mess, as near as anybody can figure. She has tons of drugs, and she picked up most of the junkies who weren't in any of the gangs. They all think they live in fairyland now."
"With regards to the Ghosts, my LT can probably explain better than I can," he says. "As long as we have a deal, she'll bring you up to speed on how everything works in the city."
Ghiv follows behind the new guy Derrick.
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Alanna kept the smile plastered on her face as 'dromeda asked some good and wise questions, but her head was spinning. Politics, changing tactical situations, changing political situations...drugs, guns, no bullets, more water, priorities...for someone who just wanted something to drink and to find one particularly attractive man, it was a lot on the plate.
Speaking of which, in an automatic motion she grabs a hip flask and drinks deep, giving herself time to think. Coyotes will need to be dealt with...by hook or by crook.
Hook. That gave her an idea.
Putting the flask away, she popped the pen from her hand (it came with the lock-pick set) and grabbed a dirty, worn, many-folded piece of paper from her pocket. She knelt down cross-legged and scribbled out a few short sentences.
She presented it to Moses, saying, "Well, you drive a hard bargain, but you got yerself a deal. And, yes, we'll need a decent low-down on the local goings on. Including the right routes and passes to give my driver, Cruiser, so he knows how to get back here an' not get shot at.
Anyway, this paper just needs your signature. It's a bunch of short words, with one big one, which is 'plenipotentiary'. Basically it lets me deal with the Coyotes as if I was you. That way we can get some quality face time, and they know any deal made with me will be good.
So, y'know, make sure your L-T gives me a good debrief."
Alanna smirked. She knew what 'debrief' meant, but it still made her think of pulling pants down.
"And, yes, I agree to your terms. If I could be shown to your depot at some point, I'll unload the caravan of water and re-load with some bullet-less guns and hard-hitting drugs.
But after the Coyotes are...neutralized...can I expect some decent intel on a particular blond rebel, hmmm?"
Gotta keep the eye on the prize.
Alanna starts bouncing. Approaching the Coyotes with a little talk-or-shoot sounds like fun.
Neon stare at the body in the tank, a strange sense of familiarity washing over her, then a even stranger feeling of nostalgia for all of her past that never was, family, being a child, growing up and the pains and joys that brings.
Tearing her eyes away, she glances further into the lab, but the need for hast forstalls any further exploration.
Quickly she searches the nearby desks and stops when she see the datadrive...it's designation so close to her own. A pain begins in her chest, and she has to steady herself against the desk. A glance at her health status on her wrist display only shows an elevated heart rate.
With a sigh, she realizes it must be 'heart-ache' she was experiencing. Shaking her head, she collects what she can and walks briskly out of the lab, a mix of emotions on her face.
Neon emerges from the lab, her face a study in the attempt to suppress a strong emotion...saddness, anger...probably both.
"Let's go." she says curtly, lowering her helmet over her head.
===PhxZoo===
"S#+!, and you a lawyer too?" He asks. He returns Alanna's smirk at "debrief", and you sense for a second that he may be a kindred spirit. Either that or the hookah is starting to go to his head. "Yeah, you can take my signature. I don't know how much good it will do for you with the Coyotes, but if you think you need it, I'm fine." He gives a short scan over it. "This is only for the Coyotes, so we clear. I got a delicate balance going on in Phoenix."
"You'll get info on your blondie when you take care of 'em. Hopefully we can work out a consistent route then, too." He stands, kissing Alanna's hand and giving 1dr0meda a polite nod. "Pleasure doing business with you ladies. Baron, if you'd escort them out to the warehouse. Then get them to LT." The guard who took the water before nods, and gestures. "Follow me."
He takes you outside, past the guards and a few curious onlookers, including Jimmy/Johnny/Joe, down towards a storage building. A sign informs you that this is where the "Phoenix Zoo stores food, medicine and other necessaries for its wide variety of both naturally-occuring and gene-modded animals DRUGS AND PIECES." The inside is ganger candyland. Relatively neatly organized shelves stocked with melee weapons, guns, locked cages to the back housing cabinets of drugs. A man in a blue bandana and goggles is working at the back of the room, at a table of chemistry equipment. He gives you a nod, and the guard gives him a short explanation. He takes careful stock of anything you take.
===Nexxon===
Derrick escorts you three downstairs, taking particular notice of Neon as she snaps her helmet back on, but opting not to say anything. As you clear the last flight of stairs, he puts a finger up to his earpiece. After a second, he quietly mutters "Drek," and draws the Predator off his hip. "Go, go," he says to you three, breaking into a sprint, keeping his gun low, angling toward the front of building, running into the courtyard.
As you clear the front doors, a series of shots rings out from behind you. Mr. Plant drops one of Derrick's runners onto the linoleum and strides across the interior of the building, deftly reloading. He's bleeding heavily from the temple, and babbling constantly. It's difficult to hear at this distance, but it sounds like he's switching between English and Japanese every other word. As you turn to look back, Plant is next to Derrick, crossing a hundred yards in an instant. Derrick continues running as Plant, in front of you, raises his gun. "<Your family will be sorry for the choices you have made, Ms. Yukosawa.>"
"F@%&," Derrick says, half-turning and looking over his shoulder. "He can... Your TAPs! Turn off your TAPs!"
Puzzled as to why it matters, and hesitating for just a moment at the loss of information it will produce, Kitsune turns off her TAP (is that a Free action?).
She then draws a shuriken, and throws it at Mr. Plant, hoping to throw off his shot :
Ghiv turns off his tap and dives for cover!
P.S. - Kitsune also dives for cover, *away* from Mr. Plant (or moves behind a pillar, or some bushes or a tree, depending on the building's architecture) after throwing her shuriken. At least a -2 to be hit, just for being Prone - if not higher if there's actual things to take Cover behind.
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Alanna shares the debrief grin, and giggles lightly as he kisses her hand.
'We are NOT f@%@ing him.'
'Ya, ya, sure, of course. Gotta keep it business.'
'No, no, seriously, we are NOT f+~!ing him.'
Of course, ya, sure. That's what I said.'
City leader. Surrounded by dangerous. Open chaos the likes of which we have not seen. Not f#!!ing him.'
'That's what I said! Geese. Give it rest.'
She walks away wondering what it be like to be Queen of Phoenix.
She's brought back to reality by the appearance of the armory. "Oooo!" she squeals, darting in and spinning about three times.
She walks through the isles a few times, then spends a full ten minutes reorganizing and cleaning the place, chatting amicably with the blue-bandannaed nerd and mostly ignoring his protests as she makes the shelves more efficient. Standing back, she nods, pleased with her work.
Then she starts loading up.
"Hey LT, now that we're all best buds, can my driver leave my vehicle so he can come and help me unload and load up?"
During a lull, she floats nearer the gynodrioid. "Pssst. 'dr0meda. Is this okay? I know the Coyotes are kinda your people, and lord knows I'm down for a party, but you don't think the others are in trouble, right? Like, surely they won't miss us if we're gone a bit longer, yeah?
Yeah, I don't know why I'm worried. They're with a big corp surrounded by guards and a pretty car. I'm sure they're just bored out of their minds."