The bartender pours out a tequila and passes it down to Billy. "Worthwhile, huh? How worthwhile are we talking?"
Billy raised a eyebrow, unfortunately I'm currently on a time limit so it'll have to be financial this time around.. Billy left the suggestion hanging in the air to hammer in the point.
"That so?" The bartender smiles, then leans forward. "Five hundred and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
<I'm coming by anyway in the event that something goes drek,> he sent back to Chibiko.
One would think that a hooded figure walking past the other rooms is not ominous at all. He takes caution and walks silently to the room, hands at the ready to draw the concealed pistols for the worst case scenario.
<Doesn't seem to be anyone here, anyway. Time for a bit of breaking and entering ^_^>
<My favorite part of the game.>
As Geezer slipped his way past the inattentive ork behind the desk and up four flights of stairs, Chibiko waited patiently beside the room they'd be breaking into. To her credit, she didn't exactly look like a burglar. Nor did it looks like she'd be frequenting a love motel, but the situation was what it was. To any observer that saw Geezer arrive on the fourth floor and nod at Chibiko, it had the subtle appearance of a potential felony.
Fortunately there were no observers. The vertical nature of the building meant there were no more than four rooms per floor, and none of the other three had anyone going in or out. At least not yet. Too early, maybe.
The girl nodded at her partner in crime, already regretting asking for backup. She glanced both ways down the rather short hallway, then whispered to Geezer. "So... we can either go through the door or try to find a way around. Maybe a window?"
"Not sure about the window, going through there might leave whoever is in that room an opportunity to escape through the door. And breaking through the door might cause a lot of noise for anyone a few floors down could notice."
He pauses for a moment. An idea came to him like an oncoming train caught by surprise. "We could, however, block both ways. One of us can go through the window, which will likely alert the person inside. They will try to escape through the door with one of us waiting and armed.
"If by any chance the person in there is armed, we both go in."
"No reason to assume Cherry'd run... but I guess there's no harm in being careful. Feel like renting room 403 for us?"
Chibiko paused for a minute, then her cheeks flushed. "Drek. That sounded all kinds of wrong."
"...Yeah, I'm... I'll be downstairs..." he said bemusedly. "I'll keep you posted through the commlink." Geezer walked down the hall, confused about what she said. Very likely it was her attempt at a joke that fell flat on its face, as Geezer had no sexual attraction to someone that looks like a prepubescent girl.
As he walks downstairs, he lets down his hood and puts on the most normal face he could muster. He walks to the front desk, with the orc still having his back turned. Geezer rings the bell.
"Hi there! I would like to stay in a room for the night please. Room 403 to be specific.
The man glances up from the trid. Sighing, the ork pauses it and spins around on his chair to face the guest. "Peppy, eh? Whatever. 50 nuyen a night, and another 50 if you make a mess of the sheets. That doesn't include whatever the girls are charging you, obviously. That ain't my end of business. You can have the room all night... but I imagine you won't be needing it that long."
"Right, thank you." he said to the ork as he hands him the tender. Geezer takes the keycard and heads upstairs. He didn't seem fazed by the thought that the sheets in the room were not washed, least of all things he won't be sleeping in them. He meets up with Chibiko.
"That went surprisingly well," he said as he slides the keycard several times into the door. It took several tries until the door accepted the card and unlocks.
The interior of room 403 is exactly as one would expect from a tacky love motel on the slummy side of Miami's New Downtown. Cheaply furnished and small, with a bed that took up most of the main room. It even had a credstick reader for vibration function or whatever else the thing might be equipped with. A small bathroom and closet were attached, though the former boasted little more than a shower and a toilet. Below the windows sat an ancient AC unit, probably older than the building itself. It was off and the room was, consequently, uncomfortably warm and stuffy. A pair of tall windows with heavy curtains hung facing outward and presumably towards the waterfront. A glance through the crack between them found only the bleak wall of the opposite building. The waterfront was probably beyond that building. The good news was that the windows had a latch to open them. Apparently the building hadn't been hit with those suicide-prevention standards. Or the building's owner didn't care.
"Alright well, I'll try to shimmy across to room 402," he whispers to Chibiko. "Keep your guard at the door, and I'll signal you if you need to break in or if she tries to escape through it."
Geezer heads into room 403, bypassing the large bed that took up most of the room. Though the comforter was indeed washed, he could still see some of the stains that were stubborn enough to stay on even through the supposed cheap fabric cleaners. He unlatches the window and looks down. A fall from that height would be enough to claim a life of someone void of bioware, but likely some non life-threatening injuries from someone like him. He still takes caution as he hangs himself from the windowsill, attempting to shimmy across towards room 402.
Billy gave the man a wry grin, ok my counter offer, 250 for the info if its good and Ill give you my phone number in a way you've never seen before . Billy then grabs a post it note from a nearby stand and places it on the bar in front of the bartender, followed by Billy subtly unzipping of his crotch.
The exterior wall of the love motel is old, leaving plenty of little handholds and footholds to shimmy out past the windowsill on. The city passes along a dozen or so meters below, no one caring enough to glance up and see the madman clinging to the building. After three meters of shimmying with his face pressed to the wall of the building, Geezer is finally close enough to peer in through the window.
Unfortunately for him, the curtains are closed. No way of telling who or what's inside, but it looks like the lights are off.
The bartender of the TackyTikiBar'n'Grill takes an abrupt step back from Billy. He glances both ways, then takes another long, hard look at the man in front of him. "Boy, are you for real? Put that thing back before someone takes it off. A counteroffer's a counteroffer, but by all that's good - put that away." He shakes his head, palm to his forehead. "Call it 250 and a favor and I won't ask the bouncer to ply his trade tonight."
<Drek, I can't see shit through the curtains. Are you absolutely certain Cherry is in the room?> he whispers in the commlink, still dangling from the handholds and footholds.
Without a word Billy zipped up his fly and got the cash out. Okay to business then, I'm looking for the girl, plus any info on whose shes been hanging out with and if you've been hearing anything on the grapevine about guro videos being made with the local talent. Billy brought up a pad and prepared to hear what the man had to offer.
Geezer can't see Chibiko facepalm, but that's exactly what she does as she sits against the wall of the hallway. <No. I'm actually pretty sure she isn't, but she has been here. Nice of you to take the dangerous part of the job though ;)>
The bartender slides the credstick into a pocket and nods several times, hmming to himself. "Well, she's a regular round here. Usually meets with one or two folks at our tables. Usually dressed fairly nice, almost always male. A lot of them are the musclebound beach bum type, yeah? The kinds who wish they could be down on South Beach but have to make do with the public beaches on the mainland instead. Last one I saw 'er with was, eh, maybe a week or so ago? Big fella. Didn't really get a good look, but he was either a helluva fella or a regular-ish ork. Pretty well dressed for this place too. They seemed to be close, but it ain't my job to pry into peoples affairs." He shrugs, gesturing to the clientele around him. "As for your nasty trids... I haven't heard a thing about that. But this is Miami, friend. Kick over the wrong shell and you'll find all kinds of scum. The rest of us are just here to make a living. We're just lucky enough it's here in the sunshine instead of some drekhole sprawl."
Billy gave a few nods, so I guess the best places would be something like the beach area or maybe somewhere high end, well I guess it narrows it down a little from just the whole city, well its not much but thanks for the info, see ya around Billy waved as he made his way outside to meet Freddy.
Geezer read the message Chibiko sent and gave an audible sigh. "F++~in hate that slot," he muttered under his breath.
He takes out one of the keycards he was given and attempts to slide it between the windows, hoping that he could break in without alerting whoever was in there. It's a good assumption that because the lights are off, no one is in there, but one can't be careless about this.
Geezer slips the keycard in through the gap of the window, but it doesn't seem like the latch wants to budge. To his credit, it wasn't really designed to be opened from the outside by a keycard. But that doesn't mean it was any easier to be hanging four stories in the air with about an inch and a half of footing to stand on.
Getting through this was going to take a bit more than hope and prayer...
Frustrated, Geezer jams the card in the gap harder in the hopes that SOMETHING happens. "C'mon..." he whispers as he grits his teeth.
With a sudden click the window flops open and Geezer goes rolling into the room. Light filters in through the flapping curtains as the setting sun and the sea breeze follow behind Geezer. The room is not unlike the other, though much darker. There is no movement; no signs that anyone is in.
Standing up, Geezer steadies himself on the edge of the bed and pulls his hand away wet. Glancing down, he finds it covered in blood. The whole bed is covered in the stuff. A plastic sheet hangs along the walls, covered in red spray. The undersized bathroom to the side is even worse. A commlink sits on the end table next to several surgical tools. All of them look recently used.
... and yet there's no body. Nor any signs of who did this.
What the frag happened here?
A good while had passed since Friedrich was in contact with his comrade. Knowing full well that their secret code would alert the knight if anything should befall Billy, Friedrich instead focused his attention upon the bmw motorcycle that transported them there. Aside from his glorious blade, the bike had been a treasure of his for quite some time.
Producing a rag, he began to clean it's exterior of the Miami rust and dirt.
"My valiant steed."
10 minutes passed, and Friedrich wasn't about to go swinging his sword around like an idiot. Only when the time was needed would he ever brandish his magnificent blade. Leaning against his bike, Friedrich looked at his hands and thought about the magic that Merlin had taught him over the years. Some spells were destructive, and there were of course courtroom tricks. One happened to be his favorite.
Small motes of bright energy formed in his hands, and he was able to conjure the image of a woman he had once crusaded with - Hilda. She was his peer in both blade and combat, but a dear friend that had helped Friedrich during his early knighthood.
2 hits
1 hit
Geezer mouths an expletive as he looks at his hand covered in blood. He stands in place trying to muster as much as he could as he looks around the scene.
Wow, didn't think it would be this bloody. he thought to himself. The guy must have been having the time of his life. I know I would with someone else more deserving.
He notices a commlink sitting on an endtable next to a couple of bloodied surgical tools. Without a second thought, he accesses through hoping to find another lead.
The commlink's a cheap model. Just a step above the Meta Link burners that were so common among runners, it was a cheap Sony knockoff of a more popular design. A quick glance through the contacts reveals a handful of call girls and a number of other contacts that have all been put through a scrambler filter. Without the passcode, they were indecipherable gibberish. Didn't mean you couldn't call them, 'course, but for all you know you could be calling up Miami PD.
A glance through the files doesn't show anything of interest either. Most of the programs installed are all normal, nothing you'd expect a serial killer or sociopath to be running (or not running?). A few corporate documents, possibly worth something to someone as paydata - but probably not much.
Recent calls. A lot of calls to one of the scrambled numbers. A few to another, but mostly random. Doesn't look like there's anything of real interest... There! The latest of the calls was to one call girl so lovingly labeled 'Cherry.'
Billy exits the club and walks back to meet Freddy, well that could have been better but at least we might try and focus on the beaches or the high end sector. Although the high end sector was the most recent. Billy pulls up the list of places and checks the areas Cherry could be.
"Ach. That is a shame." said Friedrich as he finished amusing himself. "I suppose you're right. A visit to the high end sector might be better, but we'll face real security and...I perhaps Lone Star."
Lone Star didn't bother Friedrich as much as other runners, being that the knight did have a background in Ares. Those years were far gone for him to remember much. After all, he escaped to BTL's because that life was far too mundane for his taste. The 24/7 security detail and data entry hell was enough for anyone to seek escapism.
"Before we move out, perhaps an update from our friends in order. You can patch me in while we grab a quick refresher. I'm in the mood for something bitter." he said while turning the bike's throttle and sending them onto the Miami streets once more.
"There you are," he whispered to himself. He walks over to the door and lets Chibiko in.
"Cherry's not in here, but I believe I found her number. I've sent the number to your link. You're welcome to take a look at the murderous display of playing doctor in here if you can take it," he says as he prepares a message to Billy and Freddy.
"Let's just say the cleaning lady's going to be working overtime."
He accesses his commlink and sends a message to the other guys.
<Hey, we found Cherry's number. I'm going to text it to find her, but I want to know what you guys have found in your travel.>
Chibiko stops and stares at the gruesome scene. She'd seen a lot of drek in her travels (and caused quite a bit of it herself)... but this was something else entirely. Something very, very wrong had happened here.
"Wow. This looks... bad. If this used to be Cherry, then maybe the killer came back to finish the job." She snaps her fingers, realizing the obvious. "If the killer brought her here, then maybe our friend at the desk saw him. Or if there's a camera anywhere, maybe that got a glimpse of him."
"Given the nature of this love motel, I would not be surprised if there was a hidden camera in any of these rooms." He looks around the room as he continues to talk.
"We should also comb the hallways as well, and even if we don't find any cameras, I think our pal downstairs would be trilled to give us some answers regarding this heinous display."
If there were any hidden cameras in the love motel's room, Geezer certainly doesn't uncover them in his search. What he does uncover, however, is what appears to be a severed finger that has slid beneath the bed. Sticky with congealing blood, the finger doesn't look it came from Cherry.
Unless Cherry is a working girl with particularly manly looking hands.
Geezer picks up the severed finger, not caring about sanitary issues. It's the least of his worries as of now.
"Well then, looks like someone in here had a bad day," he states nonchalantly, unperturbed by the sight of the severed finger. "For all I know, there could be the likely scenario that the killer might have been sliced by Cherry and she escaped." He looks to the direction of the curtains being blown by the outside air.
"If Cherry was able to escape, the door would have been her only means of escape. No human who isn't borged or bio'ed is able to survive a four story fall out the window."
He looks back at Chibiko. "I think it's time we pay our friend downstairs a visit. What do you say?"
"I've got a better idea, actually." Chibiko balls up her fist and bangs it against her sternum a few times, clearing her throat. When she speaks again, her voice is smooth and sultry, a strange mixture of angelic beauty and sensual tones; a voice that is entirely out of place, considering its source. "Hey, this is Cherry," she mockingly says to Geezer. "I don't suppose you got the name of the guy I brought up earlier? He's trying to rip me off and..."
The girl grins. In an instant her voice returns to its normal child-like state. "Sound believable enough? Or maybe I should go for the baritone wageslave looking to purchase a few 'home videos' for his simsense...? Whatcha think?"
Geezer attempts to not show his annoyance with Chibiko's teasing, to no avail. "...Fine, go downstairs and talk to him them since you're so clever at this. He walked outside the hallway, clearly annoyed of the whole situation. He didn't care if the girl laughs at this display, but he wanted to get this job done if it meant he wouldn't be with her for another minute.
He turned toward Chibiko as he went through the door's archway. "Also that wasn't convincing enough. You sound like an early 21st century porn star trying to act in a Broadway play, unless that is what you intend to go for. Good luck with that," he mocked. "I could be wrong about this guy's perception of voices compared to their sources, but make yours less dramatic and more convincingly serious. I'll be waiting outside."
Chibiko rolls her eyes. Working with Geezer was like working with... well, like a confused old guy who had a perpetual stick up his ass. Which was particularly funny since she was fairly certain she was older than him, even if she didn't look it. And never would. "Apologies, I'm clearly not as well versed in the mannerisms of female escorts as yourself. And I wasn't exactly planning on walking up to him. Anyone with eyes could see that I'm not an escort. At least not in this hemisphere." She takes the commlink from Geezer and leaves the room, pulling the door shut behind her. A shiver ran down her spine as she left the terrible scene. She'd find whoever was responsible for this and make him pay dearly.
With a few poke and prods at the commlink it beeps loudly and angrily. Chibiko groans before handing it back to Geezer. "Find the number for this place. I hate these things and I haven't got a clue how to work this version."
Chibiko hands back the commlink almost as a shove. Geezer rolls his eyes and gives out an audible sigh. He felt like Chibiko knew which buttons to press to piss him off, and believes that the energy she exerts figuring out which ones would be better spent on figuring out the buttons of a mini computer. The thought of lecturing her about the inner workings of that particular commlink for dreks and giggles crossed his mind, but he knew that time wasn't going to wait for them to fool around.
"Found it" he said after a few button presses.
She could see the frustration on Geezer's face, but that wasn't anything out of the norm. The only time he wasn't angry at the world was when he was downing kamikaze puffers like an asthmatic. It was a miracle the man's heart was still pumping.
"This had better pay off. We need a lead or we're fragged." Taking a deep breath, Chibiko gave her voice a few experimental tests. She didn't make it quite as pronounced as before, but it was still entirely foreign to the little girl body. She's long come to terms with her condition, but sometimes...
No matter. She hit dial and hooked the earpiece to her ear. An automatic answering service responded. She waited, then hit a few buttons to get it to go to an actual human. Or in this case, an ork. The man mumbles a practiced greeting. Showtime.
"Um, hi. This is Cherry, from 402? I was wondering if you had the name of the man who last paid for the room on record. See, he's trying to skimp on my payment... and that's not good for either of our businesses. I need his name so an 'associate' of mine can go and handle things."
3 hits
0 hits
"That so? Huh." The ork sounds distracted. On the other end of the line, Chibiko can hear the man sigh deeply before pausing his trid. The electronic hum of an AR display follows. A few high-pitched button presses later...
"Alright, got him. Mr. Frank Harris. Oh, look at that - paid by certified cred. Must be one of your corporate jobs, eh? Heheh, the rest of the info's all encrypted. Must be! But that should still be enough for your boy to track him down and teach him a lesson. You owe me one for this, Cher. Maybe later tonight?" You can practically feel the sleaze seeping through the line. You get the distinct impression this is not the first time Cherry has made this request and paid for it in an expected manner.
"We'll see." Chibiko smiled. That went better than expected. "Thanks again. Maybe I'll give you a little something special tonight... but business first." She closed the call before the ork could respond. No sense in listening to that drek for any longer than she had to.
She nods at Geezer, handing him back the commlink. Better he carried it, just in case its owner came calling. "Got a name. Frank Harris, and probably looks the part of a wageslave. Might even be his day job, when he's not off cutting up girls." A moment passed as she let him process the information. Gave her type to tik-tik away on her commlink's keyboard to share the information with everyone else. She sent a message to everyone else with the same: <Got a name. Frank Harris, possible wageslave.>
Glancing back up, her eyes rested on the mystery commlink. "Think that's his commlink? A burner, maybe?"
The wind felt good as the bike moved its way towards the high end district, considering they had both not really gotten much in the way of clues. "Your right, Ill send them a message" Billy bumps his commlink on and gets tries to get hold of the other two runners. "Hey peeps Freddy and me are riding over to the high end district on a tip, apparently the girl was last seen by a bartender hanging out with some high end dressed ork. Got anything on your end on that might work with that info?"
"Probably." he says as he pockets the commlink. "There were a lot of female names in the contact list, but there were also scrambled numbers. Nothing else in the link suggest that it belonged to this killer in question, so it is very likely a burner."
He turns his attention to the stairs and begins walking down. "If this was his actual commlink, I wouldn't be holding it right now."
Chibiko pops the earpiece to her commlink on and rejoins the commcall. It takes a few tries before she successfully reconnects. "It's possible our Frank Harris is an ork. We couldn't get any extra information without getting into the computer systems, and that's neither of our specialties. But him being a high rolling corporate employee? That fits perfectly. Sounds like it's our man."
Well it looks like the best lead we have at the moment, Ill tell Freddy and we'll meet you some place in the high end district then, any suggestions?
"Probably best not to go poking around on corporate lawns. Gets all the wrong kind of attentions. Maybe try digging up some dirt on the Matrix and see what turns up instead? We could also try waiting around to see if he turns up in the area." Chibiko glances over at Geezer, still with the 'link. "We've also got Cherry's number. Might be worth a call to see if she's even still breathing."
"Already on it," he says to Chibiko. "...And I'll see what dirt I can find in the Matrix after I call her."
Geezer dials the number he found in the burner. "Hello, is this Cherry?"
A moment passes before a female voice answers back. "Yes... but you're not Frank. How are you calling me on his commlink?"