Awakening Apocalypse - Chapter 2: The End of the Beginning

GlassEye

Adventurer
Heartbreak

[section]
Heartbreak looks to Saint, Skinny and Casper before turning back to Mac.

"Do we really need a van? I think we can travel and arrive as a group without being in the same vehicle." He shrugs. "Later or tomorrow, we only have until Wednesday to get the job done."

[/section]

[sblock=OOC]What day of the week is it?[/sblock]
 

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[section]Mac looked at Heartbreak. She didn't bother to conceal the surprise she felt. "Need? No. But since Alex emphasized infiltration, I think it'll make for an easier, safer time of things." She shrugged, letting her shoulders convey a willingness to acquiesce. "You've worked together. I'm new, I get it. If you don't think a vehicle is necessary, we can forgo one."

A grin crept to her face. "I'm more useful to the group if we have a vehicle. But not toothless, even without one." Mac smiled in earnest at Heartbreak.[/section]
 
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Rubberneck

First Post
Saint gives Aleksander a curt nod as he left the meeting.

"Do what you want. If you have your dreams set on driving some sort of windowless petto van then by all means. I just need to know where we're meetin, when, and to do my homework."
 


Mosier

First Post
[sblock=OOC]What day of the week is it?[/sblock]

OOC: Today is Monday, January 9, 2012. Aleksander expects you to gain Ironjaw's favor, and his agreement to have the Rekkers assault Wynand's campaign office in two days, on Wednesday January 11.

"I really must be going now," Aleksander says to the others. "You have only two days to complete your contract, so I suggest you meet face to face as soon as possible. Westwood Park is a nice, public, inconspicuous place where a group of lowlifes such as yourself will blend in perfectly. Ironjaw's gang controls the area around Morrison road, right up to (and, depending on the day, sometimes including) the park. When you get to Westwood Park, find a transient beggar named Wayne, who will get you pointed in the right direction. He's the ugly one; you can't miss him. See you in the Shadows."

With that, Aleksander gives a lazy half-wave as his icon becomes distorted and disappears with a faint "zap!"

The group should make its way to Westwood Park within the next few hours. If Mac is going to get the five-finger discount on a vehicle, now would be the time to do it! In fact, there's a pizza delivery store not too far from here with a couple of vehicles perfect for this type of work - a (very) old Chevy Astrovan that looks like it would have been old already in the late 90's, and an even older Volkswagen type-2 that may at one time have belonged to an actual hippy. What they lack in reliability, they make up for with practicality and a complete absence of modern electronic security systems.
 

GlassEye

Adventurer
Heartbreak

[section]
Heartbreak shrugs. "Just to be clear, Mac, Aleksandre did emphasize infiltration but in the negative. Here, let me remind you..."

Suddenly Aleksandre's voice, most likely a recording made by Heartbreak, emits from HB's icon. "You are to meet with him, not infiltrate his gang. To be frank, he would not tell me exactly what he wanted with a Runner team."

"So, yeah..." Heartbreak's normal voice is restored with that bland utterance. "Get your van. I'll meet you in the park in three hours." There is a bit of an odd inflection to HB's voice on the word 'park': annoyance? Maybe he's miffed his suggestion of meeting at the nearby diner was overridden by Aleksandre.

A moment later Heartbreak's icon leaves the VR meetingroom.

---

Heartbreak gets to work. He takes the datapack from Aleksandre, isolated immediately upon receipt, and scans it for malicious code. If it's clear he'll scan the information sent and use it to make his own searches. He wants to know everything he can about Wynand, particularly any statements he may have made recently about UGE.

Next he'll search out information on Ironjaw and the Rekkers with emphasis on looking at news and police reports (if he can get them) of violence in the area.

Finally, he'll look to see if there is a secure paid parking lot or public transit stops still running near the park.

[/section]
 

Rubberneck

First Post
Saint nods to the group.

"Three hours, got it, see you there."

Saint's avatar strains his head backwards, looking to the sky and is enveloped in light and then is gone, indicating Saint his disconnected.

Saint unpacks the data folder and spreads it out on the wall in front of him, the virtual files fluttering about. He begins to go through it all, one by one.
 

Mosier

First Post
Saint examines the data files away from the other runners. As he works, he can hear the *click-clack, click-clack* of a computer keyboard coming from his right. His sister is typing something secret, and has been for the past several days. He could open the file if he really wanted to, but he figured it was better to give her some space as she adjusts to her new self.

She's thinner now, and has stopped eating in his presence. Saint knows it's because she's self conscious, as her teeth have become sharp and elongated. She even has protruding "tusks" sticking out about half an inch from her lower jaw. Heat radiates from her body like a furnace, as if her metabolism has greatly increased. Saint knows she eats when he's not around; food doesn't last more than two days in the house anymore. But clearly, it's not enough. Her skin is stretched taut over sinewy, gangly awkward arms and legs. He can even see the bulge of her blood vessels just underneath the surface of her skin. She still won't talk to him, or anyone else for that matter.

He pushes thoughts of his sister aside, and concentrates on his job. Aleksander was right; the files are mostly useless for the Run. But, they are interesting. The notes on Ironjaw are particularly so. Aleksander doesn't know who Ironjaw was before he transformed, expressing his ork features, but the fixer has managed to dig up some hints into the ork's past. One file in particular is an audio recording, between an unknown woman in Aleksander's employ, and Ironjaw himself. The date on the file is December 29, 2011. Saint plays the file, which has no corresponding video.

[sblock=The audio file]A woman's voice. "Ironjaw?"
A gruff, male response. "Depends. You the fixer's lackey?"
"Yeah. That makes two of us, doesn't it?" The woman's response is quick and playful, but sounds a bit forced, as if she's not entirely comfortable.
The ork doesn't respond. The silence is awkward, perhaps deliberately so. Due to lack of corresponding video he can't tell for sure, but Saint gets the impression that Ironjaw is impatient, offended, or otherwise put off by the woman.
The woman speaks again. "Alright, fine. No small talk. To business, then. He says he'll give you fifty thousand."
"Why?"
The woman is taken aback, but recovers quickly. "Why don't you ask him yourself? Aleksander has made himself available to you via the Matrix. All you have to do is pick up the comlink."
"I told him before," Ironjaw replies. "No digital stuff. Cops track orks with it. You want me, you know where to find me."
"Then don't ask stupid questions, like 'why?', when you have such a generous offer."
"I don't want the money," Ironjaw says. "Nowhere to spend it in Westwood, anyway."
The woman replies, "What do you want, then?"
"I'll tell you if you turn the recording off."
"What are you talking about?" This woman is good. The lie sounds as casual as the weatherman on television.
"Fine, have it your way," Ironjaw says, and Saint can hear his footsteps as they walk away.
"Stop," the woman says. "Fine, I'll turn it off."
"Let me see it," Ironjaw says.
There's a moment where the recording device can be heard shuffling around, and then silence. The audio file ends. [/sblock]
 

Mosier

First Post
Heartbreak is concentrating on Aleksander's job, but he's only half into it. The work is menial, and not engaging. Aleksander has already prepared everything for him, and presented it to him in an obviously packaged way. Aleksander clearly wants Heartbreak to dislike councilman Wynand, which makes Heartbreak more than a little curious to know why. Maybe the guilt or innocence of a person matters to someone like Casper, who seems to deeply value some kind of personal code. But Heartbreak can't help but ask himself whether he even cares what kind of person Wynand is.

Even with all of Aleksander's effort, the dirt on Wynand is pretty mundane and unremarkable. Especially compared to the REALLY bad political stuff hackers uncover all the time. Aleksander's files coalesce into an overall picture of the councilman in Heartbreak's mind.

In the Corporate vs. Government political divide, Wynand is pro government. He has rejected proposals to outsource any of the Denver police workload to private sector security firms, despite clear reports that the police are overwhelmed and completely unable to cope with the current social upheaval. Many of Denver's worst neighborhoods have been completely abandoned by the police, leading to an explosion in "street justice" gangs, like the Rekkers.

Wynand has not taken a public stance on how to address Unexplained Genetic Expression, the phenomenon that has turned many people into orks and trolls. He has a teenage daughter named Elle, who died in the riots late last year. There are rumors that Elle is still alive, but mutated, and Wynand is keeping her locked away.

Wynand was investigated for corruption following a recent election, however the investigation found no wrongdoing. The lead investigator was later given a seat on the board of directors for SineCorp, just before the corp was granted a historically lucrative construction contract by the Denver city council.

Heartbreak's attention falters, and he begins to doze. The information passes through him and out again, while he retains none of it. Heartbreak's mind is on a different, much more important project...

The door buzzes, snapping him awake. Via the Matrix, he glances through a security camera outside the door. It's a delivery woman, but he is not expecting anything.

When he opens the door, the woman hands him a plain envelope. "Print here, please," the delivery woman says. Heartbreak puts his thumb on the sensor, which beeps as it accepts his print. She hands over the letter, saying "Have a good day, sir," as she leaves.

He's all alone again, and the letter suddenly seems ominous in its plainness. The envelope has his name and address in handwritten script, something he cannot remember ever seeing outside of a movie. He tears the envelope open, and there's a short, handwritten note inside.

[sblock=The note]
Stop searching. We do not yet know whether they can access the Matrix, but if your work falls into their hands, we are ruined. They are smarter and more powerful than we. They are ruthless and manipulative, and they are compelled to dominate. We will come for you, when it is time. Stay free.

-Kin
[/sblock]
 

GlassEye

Adventurer
Heartbreak

[section]
Heartbreak holds the note in one hand. He's apparently touched the edge of something bigger than he even thought. He paces, back and forth across the small room where he works and lives. He curses and tosses the note into the sink. He's seen enough movies to have an idea of what he needs to do with any evidence. Heartbreak holds lit matches to the paper until it burns away, crumbles the ashes and then washes them down the sink. After, he connects to his deck, deletes the files he had been gathering on elves, and scrubs the drive as best he can to leave no trace of the files. It's the best he can do.

A look at the time and he curses again. He has just enough time to get to the park.
[/section]
 

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