Johny is seated in his office, a small section of his hotel penthouse. He really needs to get a -real- office soon. This nickle and dime shit has to go. He also needs money, so thats why this little mission is going to be good for him. A few thousand in the pocket, a feeling like he did a good turn. Lets see. He needs… matrix.. and someone willing to steal food. Low threat ratio, high moral superiority smug ratio.
"Dial Slinger, Dial Jailbait."
The computer dials both numbers, sending the standard 'please meet me at my penthouse for discussion' message to both runners.
Slinger gets the message, messages back with when he's available — which is relatively soon. Johny is high on his 'get there now' list. And so a few minutes before the appointed time, Slinger shows up at the penthouse, knocking, licking his lips — and hides that just before Marcus can answer the door. And he makes a conscious effort not to salivate too much. Marcus, after all, is hawt. And the young mojo-Slinger waits patiently, gear loaded into the SUV downstairs, and carefully stashed in a hidden area where the spare tire ought to be.
Marcus does infact, answer the door. Johny is by that time, hip deep in a phone call, trid-style. He's standing near the trid, speaking in Russian to an older Caucasian man. When slinger enters, he cuts the call, offering a japanese style bow, which the older man on the screen returns. "Hey, Kaivan. Ever meet an Otaku?" He asks curiously, reaching for a cigarette as the Trid resets itself to some easy listening music channel that plays the best of the 40s, 50s and 60s.
Hitomi makes her way out upon receiving the message, she doesn't yet trust herself with her new car, even if it does have autonav, so she plays it safe and catches the bus over. She's dressed relatively sensibly… for her. In a tartan pleated skirt, black sweater with arms a little too long, stockings, boots. She still looks like a Japanese school girl, but at least her outfit is neither frilly nor lacy today. She even wears a sensible black coat over the whole thing to stave off the cold. She arrives a few minutes after Slinger does. Just as Marcus is about to shit the door, in fact, she halts it by knocking, offering an apologetic smile His way.
Marcus pauses, not shutting the door entirely when the Japanese girl knocks. "Oh, My appologies, Miss. Do come in."
"An Otaku, is a curious creatures." He says, lighting his own cigarette now. "They can…" A pause as HItomi enters the room… "Access and interact with the matrix without the need for a deck. SO everything I can do, with my five million nuyen computer, she can do.." He gestures to hitomi. "With her mind. Theres some speculation in higher magical circles as to the Matrix existing as its own incarnation of astral space, the first -artificial- astral space, and these? It's magi. Say Hello Hitomi."
"Of course some simply say we're the next evolutionary step of mankind." Hitomi offers then, glancing between Johny and the man she doesn't know, "I'm Nobumura Hitomi, and I'm the Otaku he's talking about." She volounteers then, offering a little bow of her head.
A young-looking blond elf, complete with short, spiked blond hair, at least in front, is in Johny's office. A warm smile crosses his features, even as he turns in fascination from Johny's lecture. "Interesting. The funny thing is, magic and tech so often don't mix. But once it enters the world of the mind, like newer computers, then… well, as I mentioned the other night — everything's a metaphor in magic. I think the same is probably true in computers, for the most part. So it makes sense." And as Hitomi comes in, he stands up and offers his hand, leaving his cigarette burning in the ashtray. "Slinger," the youth replies, giving his street name, along with an inclination of his head. "Good to meet you." He sits back down, turning his attention back to Johny and steeples his fingers. "I assume you called me here for more than to make her acquaintance, however pleasant that might be."
Sam moves to get himself a drink. "Anyone want anything?" He asks, putting a few ice cubes in the glass he takes for himself. "And yes. A chance to make a little money. A chance to do a little karmic work. Figured you may appreciate the nature and scope of the work, both of you."
Hitomi shakes the hand and offers a little smile, "Nice to meet you." She offers and then faces Sam. "I'm alright, thanks. I am interested to know what you have planned for us today." She says then, smiling a little. "You have a habit of surprising me."
"Survival trait." Says Sam.
"Fizzycoke if you got it," Slinger replies casually, picking up his cigarette again and lounging back in the chair like the bad kid at the rear of the classroom. "Money is good. Karma is good. You know the kid of job I'm best at, man, so I trust your discretion. Lemme know the plan." He flicks ash into the ashtray, glances apologetically at Hitomi — after all, it appears so far she is a nonsmoker.
"In short, HappNood Food Processing company makes 90 percent of the Instant Flash-Noodle product consumed in North America. This cheap, plentiful food product has very little nutritional value, but is filling, and is consumed by much of the underclasses." Says Sam, reaching in to the small fridge next to the wetbar, to remove a can of fizzyglug. He moves with his drink, and the fizzyglug, back to the pair and has himself a seat on one of the couches. From the trid, a song plays; the 2061 easy listening hit 'If I Had Your Love' by Spinny-K, a Tir Tarngire born elven flute player that pretty much no one admits to liking, but still records gold albums consistently.
Hitomi nods her head, following so far. Noodles, no nutritional value, cheap. Her cupboards were full of them back home. "I follow you so far, but I can't really see where you're going with this one. Please don't tell me they're putting something nasty in the noodles…"
Slinger listens to the music, distracted by it. Beautiful, flowing, but he shakes his head and returns his attention back to the conversation at hand. Tir Tairngire has nothing for him — they would kick him out as too human, not nearly elfin enough. In a way, the thought brings with it its own bitterness, but still, the music is nice. "Yeah, eaten them myself a few times. Good quick snack, and they're… well, filling, yeah. Junk food, but it sustains life. So what's the issue? Am I gonna regret having eaten them?" Slinger asks, his face furrowing into a frown.
"No. They are a clean company for the most part. THey make a product and they sell it." Says Sam. "But, accidents happen. Corps make mistakes, perish the thought. There is a church down in the warrens, goes by the name of Good-Hope Ministries. Nice people, good hearts. They have been being shorted by a few crates here and there for a while. Looks like one of their logistics men was embezzling and using this to hide it. Only, well, the corp isn't willing to send the difference between whats been paid for and what was delivered. Says its the churches problem."
Slinger lifts a brow at that comment. "I see," he comments. "Was this the company's logistics man, or a delivery company?" he asks. He takes a drag of smoke, inhaling it, then stubs the butt out and exhales the smoke upward as he considers the situation. "Either way, the delivery company works for the corp, I think, so it's on them either way. Our job is to make sure they make good on the contract even without knowing?"
Hitomi nods her head, "So, our job is to make up the difference?" She says to Sam, then, nodding her head a little. She glancces at Slinger as he asks his questions, and then back to Sam waiting for the answers.
Johny nods to Slinger and Hitomi then. "You'll be misrouting enough noodles, then shipping them to the church, that they won't have to worry about buying more for long enough that the scales are balanced correctly."
Slinger chuckles. "So where's the money coming from?" the youth asks. "You mentioned making credit. I don't mind working on charity, but I also like to get paid for my time whenever I can. Lets me do more pro-bono work and pays the bills, if you know what I mean."
Hitomi nods her head, and then frowns a little, "That sounds- no offense- like something I could do on my own." She glances towards Slinger, "I mean, I have no idea where your skills lie, but misdirecting shipments and rerouting deliveries is something us matrix types are very good at."
Hitomi looks back to Sam, "So… is there something else to the job we should know?"
"Unidentified sources. Need to know, and even I, don't need to know. It comes from some respected sources." He looks to Hitomi then… "Yes, it does, but the problem is in the actual movement of the shipment from where you misroute it too, and where its going to end up. We can't have the corp simply realize its mistake down the line and charge them for the full price of what they received."
Slinger nods quietly. "Trouble is with Matrix is it involves moving information, and that means you have to change information. And information, once changed, can still be tracked," he comments. "Matrix is gonna be a big part of this, but the 'trix also can't mess with a human mind, and their delivery guy might well remember and order this big. Trick is to have it dropped off somewhere, then moved from there." He considers that for a moment. "Exactly how much stuff are we talking about? What quantity, in metric tons?"
The man settles back. "A full tractor trailer of noodles.. maybe… 30 gross tons of grosser food?" Asks the man with a predilection for real meat and fresh vegetables. "Thats assuming that you don't add in a few goodies."
Slinger chuckles. "Goodies could be fun," the youth agrees. "What would be best is if we could track down the guy who embezzled, make his account pay for it. But that would be asking for too much justice in this world." He considers that. "A truckload is a lot. Sounds more like you need a rigger," he admits with a spread of his hands. "I dunno if I can even drive a big rig, really. Machines aren't my forte."
"And that, Slinger." Says Sam, crossing one leg over his knee. "Is why I hire you guys. Problem solvers. People who see an issue; and can overcome it. I don't have a rigger on tap right now."
Slinger chuckles. "Well… for me I guess it'd be a matter of… huh." He thinks about it. "If I don't drive the truck, somebody else has to drive the truck. The guy who knows he's supposed to deliver it somewhere. I s'pose I could wipe his memory, make him /certain/ he took it to the right place. Not very ethical, but if we could make it be the guy who's embezzling, that would make me happy. There's some justice." He grins.
"The embezzler is the regional manager of HappNood logistics, Mr. Antonio Brown. He won't be anywhere near the truck, and I doubt he even knows the people he was embezzling from."
"A lot of long-haul trucks are autonav driven. Trucking is a dying trade." Hitomi offers, "I could slice into gridguide and borrow one." She says them, looking between the two of them. "We could have the driver drop off a trailer, then an automated truck pick it up and drop if off closer to where it needs to be. THen I'll wipe both records."
Hitomi adds, "Of course, someone would need to transfer the trailer… And, memory wipe works too. Probably simpler."
Slinger nods thoughtfully, glances to Johny, and spreads his hands. "Yeah. I think she has a point — I'm not sure what I can really contribute to this mission," he admits with a chuckle. "I know my limitations, and one of them is that I don't touch the trix, really." But the thought makes him purse his lips. "That could work. Covers our trail a little further," he agrees. "HappNood Logistics. Tony Brown. Got it." He grins. "Well, I'm ready to do whatever's needed. See what you can arrange, and I'll make it happen from there."
Johny nods to the pair. "So… taking the job or not… I'm a little confused?"
Hitomi says "I'm on it, just need to brainstorm a little."
Slinger smiles. "I'll take the job, but if I don't do anything, I don't expect to get paid. It sounds like Ms. Nobumura has it mostly under control, though I'm ready to assist any way I can. But I'm out of my depth on the data side."
Johny nods then… "Well, dataside, is what she's for. Meatside, moving the product or finding people to move the product, getting past any obstacles in the field, thats your department, slinger."
Hitomi nods her head a little then, and she thinks about it, "So, Spoof an order." She raises one finger, "Have it dropped off somewhere nearby, but not at the specific destination… then I delete the logs. THen, if you like, I can leave getting it to the final destination up to you, maybe snoop aorund to see if I can't find some dirty little secret on our embezzler while you're at it. THat work for you?" She asks SLinger then.
Slinger nods firmly. "Like I said, I stand ready. All depends what she can make the numbers say. Once we know that, we'll figure out the rest. But somehow I doubt they're gonna send any armed guards along with it." He ponders, grinning. "Too bad we can't make the logistics company send us a big pile of money with some of those guards … we could turn this into a profit center."
"Money is tricky business. Money dissapears, and the corp has the credsticks invalidated, not to mention claims on insurance. You can't exactly invalidate noodles, though. If I can find a dirty little secret on Mr. Brown, however, we could certainly cash in on that and make his life a little 'interesting'" Says Hitomi.
"Slinger, if I could do that? I'd be a rich man." Says Sam then, standing up. He moves over to a pad of paper. He takes the top sheet, offering it over to Hitomi. "Here's the specs. Make it happen sometime today or tomorrow. They are short food for Wednesdays feed."
Hitomi nods her head, and then says to Sam. "Alright- I think I'll stay here. I feel like a touch of sunbathing." She says to him then, and adds, "I'll have to pick up my satlink unless you've got a dish somewhere ont his fancy appartment of yours." She says to him then.
"Never shit where you eat." Says he, gesturing to the door.
Hitomi frowns, and sighs, "You know as well as I do Satlink can't be traced- but, sure, whatever." She says then, standing up. She offers Slinger a little square of plastic with a cell number printed on it, and then says, "That's my cellphone. I'll probably be out of radio range." She says to him then. "THe line should be secure enough though, if I'm in the 'trix I'll be monitoring the call personally. In the mean time, I gotta go get set up."
The youth grins, nodding, and wanders off with Hitomi to the proper place. "Should be able to hook up my phone to the subvocal mic, turn off the ringers and stuff. I tend to go stealthy when I'm on an op, whenever I can." The youth lights up another smoke, and prepares to just cool his heels. Matrixy-shit never takes long.
The Matrixy shit
| Hitomi sets up the satellite dish once they make their way to a nice little secluded spot outside of the worst of the sprawl, one of the many areas that have at some point in the past been leveled in the name of progress which never really… progressed. With the portable satellite system set up to use battery power- this won't take long- she points it towards the NewsNet Satellite constelation, and then glances to Slinger. "This won't take long." She says, plugging her pocket computer into one of her datajacks, and the other into her satellite uplik.
Closing her eyes, Hitomi feels her psyche drawn out of her body and into the matrix, materializing in the local RTG- or more specifically, the NewsNet RTG. From there, she beams down through RTG and LTG until she stands before the great UMS titan that is the corporate host. The leather-clad, visor-eyed icon that makes up Hitomi's online persona strides towards the gates, pushing past them without even looking back, and pausing once she is inside. First thing is first, to rerout the shipment. She makes her way to the deliveries node. She reaches into a huge spiderweb-like map of the routes and she simply pulls the end location of one of the maps, to an old abandoned place just outside the warrens- somewhere nice and quiet and more importantly,r elatively devoid of security. Once this is done, it's time to go hide her handiwork. She takes a step back, her hand reaching to her visor, and she does a sensor sweep, seeking out the file that hides behind the icon she was just toying with. Soon a golden trail leads her to what she is looking for. At the file, she lifts it, and brings it close, examining it in minute detail for any potential tricks or traps, and it becomes apparent that it's protected with scramble encryption. nasty piece of work. She puts it down on it's pedestal, and then blasts it with a wave of 'radiation' from her visor, cleansing it of the protective IC. Finally, she simply isolates the part of it that needs to be hidden, and edits the line. As far as this file reads, the truck is still heading to where it was commissioned. That done, it's time for the second part of this operation, and for that, she makes her way into the personnel nodes, barging through the security doors, she stops once there. She twists a dial on her visor, changing the sensors to a different mode- and in this new mode, she seeks out something nasty, something valuable. Something she can use against Mr. Brown. It doesn't take long for a diamond in the rough to show up. Financial records, ten years worth, documenting a very very greedy little man's dirty little secret. A dirty little man called Mr. Brown. Hitomi downloads the entire file to her pocket computer, and then she is ready to leave. Once more she adjusts the dial on her temple, and then she creates a glowing portal that leads back to her meat body. She steps through, and then in the real world… her eyes dart open. "Whew. Alright, got it. THe truck should be heading to the old fair ground in Arapahoe in a couple of hours. Want me to come with?" she asks, and grins. "I have some tasty information on Mr. Brown we can discuss on the way." The run is smooth; a drone-truck of basic soy quick-cook noodles headed for the WALLYWORLD in Colorado springs is rerouted to the old Fair grounds out in Arapahoe, the UCAS sector. Its out past the warrens, nearly rural. By the time the company thinks to look for the truck, its off grid-link roads. Mr. Brown's financial transaction records are pretty well hidden, but you catch the tail and eat your way up. Mr. Brown has embezzled probably 4.2 million nuyen over the course of the last 10 years. He never takes too much or to often; in this case it was only noticed because someone actually needed the food. |
Slinger sets about polluting the air, while wandering around a little. Astral senses active, just to make sure we aren't disturbed in any way, the youth basically simply sets up a perimeter, checks his gear — it doesn't take all that long for all the things she is doing. He has time to get through one cigarette — and that's if he smokes fast. He grins. "If you can drive at all, then we can do that. And yeah, I'd like you with, though hang back and stay safe. Just in case I need another pair of hands." The latter piece of information, though, has his immediate attention. "Oh? Do tell… and lemme know how we can use this to benefit certain charities," he suggests with a grin.
Hitomi nods her head, "Sadly, I lost my gun a little while ago. I borrowed this one from sam." She opens up her jacket to reveal a colt, "Hopefully we won't need it… I really, really hate using guns." she says to Slinger. "But, I'll be there to back you up if you need it." she offers. "Well… I can't really drive, no. But my car has Autonav… I just got it today, so you can help me set it…" She says then, laughing a little. Nervously. "As for the data I found, this is not the first time Mr. Brown has been a naughty man, and will definitely not be the last time. Unless the financial records I have on my pocket computer make their way to the right people." She says, a tone of mock innocense. "Especially if those right people are willing to part with a little nuyen."
Slinger considers this for a moment, grinning. "Extortion is such an ugly word. I prefer the term, 'Mandatory charitable contributions'." He cannot help but giggle at that. "Once we do the job, we'll make sure we have some files ready to go that put his name all over it. He doesn't want to lose his biggest client. Real evidence plus fabricated should yield a hefty contribution, don't you think?" the youth asks. "All right. So the truck is coming here. Then I gotta figure out a way to get it from here to there." He considers that. "Ideas?"
Hitomi nods her head, "Yeah, manditory charity sounds like my kind of paydata." She says and then sits back a little as the car drives them there all on it's own. Clever little thing. "Well, let's see. I know a little bit about electronics, but not much about cars. I might be able to unplug the gridguide, but I don't drive and neither do you so I have no idea what we would do with it then. We could call the church and ask if any of them know how to drive a bigrig?"
Slinger nods, grinning. "Or… we could get the driver to deliver it for us, and forget all about it." He smiles. "C'mon… let's get to the fairgrounds. And I'll work on something. I just hope they send a guy who cares more about getting home than about the fine details of the paperwork. I've got some tricks up my sleeve." He smiles, and gestures to the car. "If you would give me a ride. And no, I won't smoke in it, I promise."
Hitomi smiles a little, "Alright- it is pretty much brand new, after all." She says, not objecting to him not smoking in her car. "From now on, this is your show. I'm not so good at negotiation, though I have been picking up a thing or two. You can't really help it when you work for Sam."
To the Reroute Point
Slinger chuckles, nods agreement. "Right. You're my support staff. And I'm going to see what I can handle. First, we scope out the fairgrounds, see if we can cobble something up. I can handle disguises for us, I think." The youth goes along for the ride — after all, it's Hitomi's car, so she gets to be behind the wheel. And as we approach the fairgrounds, he considers what to do. "Too bad we don't have more prep time. I'd love to put up a few 'Shipping and Receiving this way' signs," he muses. "Lemme know if you spot one."
The fairgrounds are abandoned; they are out beyond the warrens, too far beyond the down town core and with the inability to legally build anything that was not built in 1985 (What an odd year to choose), there were no development possibilities. THe area is used now for clandestine meetings, but not random crime; it's to far from anything reasonable and criminals are lazy.
Slinger eyes the area carefully, surveying it. "All right. I got an idea," he says with a grin. He looks around for a moment, considers the area, and paces it off. "What we need is to look like things are happening. I got a fairly small area to work with… but the goal is to get the guy's guard down, so he thinks it's ordinary." He taps his chin, then begins to work on some spellcasting. Focussing on making the illusion more realistic as he works. Glances to Hitomi, looking for her input — and on the 'loading dock', he creates the illusion of something far less run down and grubby. Workers are up on the roof pounding on things, and there is a bustle of activity here. He glances over at Hitomi for her approval.
| «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + 7 (power focus) vs TN 4 for "Casting trid Phantasm, F3, to create the illusion.": 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 8 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 3 vs TN 2 for "F3, +1D, 2D drain.": 1 2 2 3 5 5 5 8 8 = 8 Successes |
While he's off setting up the Mojo, Hitomi does her make-up in the rear-view mirror of the car. She's not the best in the world, but her advanced technology and well-stocked toolkit make up a lot of the gaps. When she emerges, she looks like a somewhat different person, even if the trained eye will pick out little holes in her disguise. She puts the kit away in the bag, and back in the boot of the car, pulls her jacket back on, and goes to join Slinger.
Slinger eyes the illusion, adjusting it, then drops the spell after it's satisfactory. And then he goes to work hanging signs, using a combination of levitate and magic fingers to handle setting them up. It's fun to watch, potentially, with him gesturing and guiding the signs into place, using a hammer to pound them home, and directing the goings-on like a conductor in front of a symphony orchestra. "What's our ETA?" he asks. "Gimme a few minutes warning, and we'll go."
Hitomi watches Slinger work his magic, and shakes her head a little, "That's so cool. It makes you feel… I dunno. Powerful, in control to be able to do things like that, doesn't it?" She asks him as he works. "That's how I feel when I'm in the matrix. Out here I'm a slightly overweight girl, with middling physical abilities, at best. In there, at times I feel like I'm a super hero, or a demigod." She says then, and shakes her head a little, "But, uh, anyway. I'm all dolled up, ready for whatever is gonna happen. I'll go check the delivery schedule." She says, going back tot he car to retrieve her pocket computer, "SHouldn't be too much longer now…"
Slinger glances over at Hitomi, with a warm smile. "That's the funny thing, isn't it? I thought the same thing about decking. In that world, literally /anything/ is possible. When you look at someone, you see only the power, I think, and not the limitations. I'm all too well aware of what magic /can't/ do. Magic, for example, is bad at driving big rigs." That causes him to chuckle, but then he nods, looking around at his preparations. And then considers for a moment, and recasts the illusion… then concentrates on changing his appearance.
| «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + 7 (power focus) vs TN 4 for "Recasting Trid Phantasm. F3.": 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 8 17 = 8 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 5 vs TN 3 for "F3, +1D drain, becomes 2D.": 1 2 3 4 4 4 5 8 9 9 11 = 9 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + 7 (power focus) vs TN 6 for "Physical Mask, Force 5…": 1 2 2 2 4 4 4 5 8 9 10 11 17 = 5 Successes «OOC» Johny says, "Caught up, reading now" «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 7 vs TN 5 for "F5, +1M, 3M base, +2 for sustaining = 5M": 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 5 8 10 11 16 = 5 Successes |
Slinger ripples before your eyes, and changes into a man in a shirt and tie, with visible sweat stains. And not an elf — a human male, from the look of it. About his own height, but a little bit overweight, cheeks a little flushed. He has that harried and harassed look. "Okay. I'm ready for him."
The truck is, when all preparations are made, about 10 minutes out.
Hitomi nods her head, "I don't mind if you smoke, by the way. I don't smoke myself… well, I tried it a couple of times but I don't really see the appeal. But I spend enough time places Sam drags me to get used to smoke." She tells him then, and rocks on her heels. "So, how do you know him?" She asks Slinger then.
Slinger lights up a cigarette — a popular filtered brand, even though the odor drifting from it is the same as his usual cigarettes. "The appeal comes from associations," he comments. "From knowing I'm not supposed to. It's a small way to be bad, while the rest of me is being a good boy." He grins and drags in deeply, and then considers. "I know him from /waaay/ back. We used to do a lot of work together… still do, just on different levels." He's distracted, maintaining both spells at the same time. But he can do it. He's a badass.
Hitomi nods her head a little, "See, that's the main reason I like to have a drink occasionally. I know I'm not supposed to." She comments then, and then nods her head, "It's alright for some. Being an elf. Sometimes I feel like he barely notices me, since I'm so young. You get to be old enough to get his respect, but still look not much older than me." She says to Slinger then, sighing a bit.
Slinger chuckles. "I'm not that old, is the thing. I started running the shadows at fourteen. I drek you not," the elf admits, taking a drag from his cancer stick. He glances over at the image, gives a couple of the workers a cancer stick, sitting on the edge of the dock and lighting up. "Sam… I dunno. He respects me, definitely. And challenges me. In a way he's like a brother, in another way, he's the father I never had. Long stories… he and I have been to the bowels of hell and back. Literally." A spark in his eyes as he says it.
Hitomi grins, "Thirteen, here. Well. I built my frist deck age nine, and decked the MCT hosts at age eleven. But I didn't /really/ start decking for profit until I joined my tribe, and I was 13 then." She explains to Slinger. She sighs wistfully as he recounts events, "I wish I had adventures like that. To me Sam is… he's this unattainable, magnificent figure. Like a king sitting up on a throne- someone you can admire but you can never really… get close to. I think he likes it that way." She murmurs then and sighs.
Jimbo McDurlkeson, called Jumbo by his friends, downshifts as he approaches the area. You know, this place is kind of out in the sticks. He ain't never been out here before. But, the Sat-Nav says this is way to go allright. He puts the autonav on and lets it drive.
Slinger smiles. "You'd be surprised what Sam's like under that shell," he says cryptically. "I do know that he'd kick my ass if I told any more than that, though. And he could. He could kick my ass three ways from Sunday, and I'd have it coming. And him being disappointed in me would be worse than the actual pain," he adds. He turns his gaze back along toward the roadway, and glances at his wrist chrono, then looks back at you. "All right. Here's the skinny. You're the Japanese executive who bought this place. Me, I'm the supervisor. You just have to hang back and look haughty and distant. I'll do the talking," he says with a smile.
Hitomi nods her head, "Alright- I don't speak a word of english of course." She says with a grin. Whether he understands her or not, she's not quite sure, but it helps to get into character. The blonde highlights fade entirely from her hair, leaving her looking somewhat more prim and proper. It helps that she ties up her coat to hide the pleated skirt and sweater she wears underneath.
The truck comes in to view, long down the road. Headlights and a rising tail of dust in the midday light. An Ares LongArm, it's a rival to the Trailblazer that dominates the road. It's hawling a single 55 foot trailer, presumably holding the tasty nosh in the back.
THe truck pulls in to the fair grounds, rolling on to the crumbling asphalt that looks a lot like a recently repaved parking lot. It sure don't drive like it though. The truck follows the appropriate signs, Jumbo slinging the wheel around to steer the truck. It starts to beep loudly as it backs up to the loading dock (So noted by all the signs!)
Hitomi does as agreed, taking a few steps back, she claps her hands in front of herself and simply waits for Slinger to do the talking.
Slinger grins broadly. And in the same language replies. "That is all right, Kawaii-san. I will translate your wishes for you." He grins impishly, and then moves up the steps toward his illusion, avoiding doing too much interaction with it. He has his pocket secretary out, and starts breathing harder, making his cheeks flush while he stares at the screen in obvious frustration. And as the truck approaches, he scowls at it, and then lets out a large sigh — just one more thing to make his day worse, apparently. He lets the truck get to its destination, then walks toward the cab, while maintaining the illusion of workers scrambling around the docks to make room. (Japanese)
The Truck arrives
The truck's engine shifts to idle-mode, firing on just 4 of its available 20 cylinders to cut fuel but retain electrical power. Jumbo taps a few things in to his dash-nav system, then grabs his datapad. Time to make the hand off. The liability department gets ALL UP his ass if he doesn't do that first thing.
Slinger waits outside the cab, hands on hips, clearly displeased. He has a document up on his pocket secretary — something random, of course, but it's visible in the screen. And he lifts his finger in a rotating motion, gesturing for the driver to roll down his window.
Alright. Paperwork seems to be in order. Jumbo turns to the door, thumbing the release. He straightens his shirt, cracking the door open with a move of his leg, to step on out. "Howdy! I gotta load of Presto-Noods here for… Eh, its on the datapad, gimmie a minute to get down."
The steps back to give the driver room to get out, and scowls visibly. Of course, he looks like a middle-aged supervisor-type. "What the hell are you doing here?" the youth demands. "What's your manifest, lemme see it?" he demands, wanting to see the item. "Aw, hell. You're in the wrong place. These were supposed to go to our downtown facility. Check your change orders," he orders, eyeing the man and scowling with the look of a guy who is not having a good day. And he looks right at the man, concentrating a little more. He's not having to maintain the illusion of effort.
| «OOC» Slinger says, "Rolls coming." «OOC» Johny nods. «OOC» Slinger says, "What's his willpower, to keep this simple?" «Auto-Judge[]» Johny (#799) rolls 1: 1 «OOC» Johny says, "3" «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + 7 (power focus) vs TN 7 for "Control Thoughts F4, TN is willpower 3. Plus 4 for sustaining 2 spells.": 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls 9 vs TN 7 for "Karma 1/20.": 1 1 2 2 4 7 9 11 16 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 7 vs TN 7 for "F4, +1S draincode = 3S, plus 4 for sustaining spells = 7S.": 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 7 vs TN 7 for "KP 2/20": 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 7 8 11 13 = 4 Successes «OOC» Slinger says, "There we go. Trauma damper eats last point." «OOC» Slinger says, "He now gets to roll willpower and try to get 8 successes at TN 4." |
Slinger meanwhile slithers into the man's mind, grunting with the effort of it — which just fits his generally harried and harassed exterior. Sends the command, "The customer is always right. Do what they want you to do — your boss will be happier. They're gonna be a good customer." That should hold.
"Ya know, man, shit,. I'm sorry. Tell you what. I got my lunch break here.. Don't report this to my boss, and I'll drive it on down there for ya, man… just.. fuck, I can't afford another mark on my record, not in this market, ya know?"
The sweaty man grins. "Fraggin' A. You just made my day," he says. "Tell ya what, you do this for me, I'll grab your lunch, and we'll make sure to put in a good word with your boss for your excellent customer service." He smiles warmly. "C'mon. I'll go down there with you." He turns to the woman and addresses her in Japanese. "The delivery is incorrect, but the driver has graciously offered to correct it. Will you go on ahead of us to the warehouse downtown and tell them the order is on its way?" he inquires politely, with a bow of his head, very respectful.
Hitomi nods her head sharply, and she responds in Japanese, "Of course. I expect a prompt delivery, with no more foul ups." Her voice an approximation of annoyance. With that, she heads off towards the car, content with a job well done.
Jumbo worries the edges of his datapad. "It's mighty chill of yall ben' so arctic about this… You wanna ride with me, or maybe I should just head on over?"
The supervisor smiles. "The workers are fine here." He calls out a few commands, these in Spanish, telling people to move things. Telling Jose to make sure the roof gets finished before it rains, and telling the others to get busy working on building number seven. Just random commands to add to the illusion. "If I could ride with you, man, that'd be great. My car's parked down there," he lies. And at the offer, he moves around to the passenger side. "So where you want to go for food? You just saved my ass, man — I can't have another writeup, myself."
Jimbo reaches in to the cab. "Yeah, this is truck 302-Alpha Bravo Mike. I'm clocking out for my lunch and heading back in to town. No, no troubles. Yeah, this is McDurkleson out. Catch ya in town, dispatch."
He looks back to Slinger. "Sure, hop on in. We'll get this bitch unloaded on the doubletime!"
Slinger climbs into the cab, and then pulls out his pack of cigarettes. He's gone for something a little harder core, apparently, having his usual cancer sticks. "Okay if I smoke?" he asks, waiting before he lights up at all, and even offers the pack. "Head into downtown, then get off at exit 5," he adds, giving directions. "Nice rig you got here." Once he clocks out for lunch, Slinger relaxes — and as soon as the truck is clear, he drops the illusion, visibly relaxing a bit to be on the road.
"Eh, it's a company truck, I just drive the rig they give me. Sometimes the heater works, sometimes the radio works, sometimes not. Its just the luck of the draw man! You know how it is, cheaper to move freight than fix trucks."
The guy puts his pack back in his pocket. "Seriously, though, I appreciate it." And he continues giving directions, making small-talk with the driver. And hopefully Hitomi has gone on ahead, making sure the charity knows what will be coming. "The place we got downtown, we're leasing some space from a charity. They need the cash and they got the space. Works for everybody." And he sends a mental command to make the story more believable, to make sure the driver doesn't question it.
Drop off
The truck arrives at the location of the charity, an old warehouse on the outskirts of the sprawl. They can't keep the goods any closer in to the sprawl, or security would be prohibitively expensive. They are a charity, not stupid. The truck pulls in to the warehouse, with a very confused looking warehouse foreman coming to the truck, scratching his head.
Slinger steps out of the truck. "Just back up to the dock, man," he tells he driver. "Lemme talk to the foreman, here." And he reinforces the command with the mental pressure from the spell. He approaches the foreman, grinning. "Understand you guys have been short on these," he quietly says to the foreman. "This is a donation from some friends. Hope it helps out!" Nice and friendly, is Slinger. And he takes the opportunity to light up a cancer stick, after all — the ride wasn't hugely long, but he's a hopeless addict to the leaf.
The foreman eyes slinger warily, then the truck… then whats inside. "Well drek… yeah… we were set to run out. Hey, Marty! Getcher drek-maker over here with some hand trucks. We gotta unload this rig!"
The foreman then looks back to Slinger. "Friends, you say? What kinda friends, mmm?"
Slinger chuckles, and then shrugs a shoulder. "Man, I was gonna get you lunch, but suit yourself. I appreciate it." He sticks around until the truck is unloaded, and hopefully, it doesn't take that long. And once he's finished, he nods to the driver, spending a moment with him. "Now, you're gonna head back, and finish up your route," he sends over the spell. And then, he works another bit of magic.
| «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 2 + 7 (power focus) vs TN 7 for "Alter memory, F6, TN is willpower (+4 for 2 sustained spells).": 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 9 = 1 Succeses «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls 14 vs TN 7 for "KP 3/20": 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 8 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls 13 vs TN 7 for "KP 5/20": 1 2 2 3 4 4 4 7 7 8 9 10 10 = 6 Successes «OOC» Slinger says, "Crap. Background count here?" «OOC» Johny says, "1" «OOC» Slinger would do Filtering against it. «OOC» Johny nods. I'm cool with that. «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Magic vs TN 5 for "Filtering, TN is BG count (1) + 4 (2 sustained spells).": 1 2 2 3 4 4 7 7 8 9 9 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls Willpower + Sorcery Pool: 5 vs TN 7 for "Drain resist. F6, D drain, 3D drain, +4 for 2 sustained spells.": 1 1 3 3 3 4 4 5 7 8 10 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls 8 vs TN 7 for "Need a total of 6. KP 6/20.": 1 1 2 4 4 5 8 10 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Slinger (#69) rolls 6 vs TN 7 for "KP 8/20.": 1 1 3 4 5 11 = 1 Success «OOC» Slinger says, "TD eats last point." |
Slinger then concentrates, implanting the memory in the driver's mind of having delivered the items to the freight company owned by the embezzler. Having him forget the trip to the fairgrounds, and implanting a phony conversation with the guy who tried to bribe him. He adds believable dialogue as best he can. Then steps back and sends the driver on his way, complete with his new false memory.
Jumbo McDerkleson blinks once, then twice… The memory sets… "I think I need to get on the road… my breaks up here…. so uh… thanks for being so cool man.."
Slinger nods, maintaining the spells as needed — and knowing the memories will fade from the man's mind. He waves in a friendly manner, and then takes off, disappearing at the best possible moment. And finding the right time to simply… drop the spells. Hitomi, he knows, will handle the paperwork cleanup. And he pulls out his phone, dialing Sam's office number.
The truck pulls out, headed back for parts more civilized.
Johny rolls his neck as the call comes in. "Speakers, route the phone."
"This is Wulfson."
"Hey. Slinger. Gonna be a bunch of fed kids in a few days," the youth remarks. "And Ms. Otaku should have already delivered you the other info we found. I bet you could get the other gentleman to make a very nice donation to the appropriate organizations with what we found, hmm?"
"I see… yes. Let me check that."
Sounds of keyboards clicking in the background….
"Yeah. We can do something here. Very much so."
"All right, man. I'm out, here. Gotta go do a meeting regarding what we discussed last night. You take care."
