"Do you really think I would be teamed up with these “small timers” if they weren’t any good?"

Spiff grinned, suppressing a laugh. "You're overreactin' darlin'." He smiled widely at the group. "I'm not saying any of you aren't quality gunmen. I've just never heard of anyone named 'Croaker' before."

Then the one named Croaker spoke up. "Ok Spiff if what you say is true and the target is not here then we need to beat feet out of here to another possible local to find said target. On top of that you if what you say is true and they know something’s going on in relation to the target then we need to move now as we are out in the open here with no real cover. Now seeing as it seems you got Jack’s ok to be in on this run and you got info and the connections we need, ya might wanna speed things up and ride with us and we can go over what ya got and come up with a plan, but we only got room for you and one of your muscle boys, so send the other one and that taxi home as we don’t need the cabbie as a witness to any future events."

Peacekeeper gave a curt nod to Spiff, “Let’s get on with this, shall we?”

Spiff sighed. He didn't want to lose one of his gunmen. He turned reluctantly to the one called Roller. He had no use for someone overeager pulling a gun too soon and shooting his target. "Coyote, you're with me. Roller, sorry you can't ride with. We'll arrange the value of your time for the ride tomorrow. Reverend will give you my digits. Hasta luego, Muchacho." He smiled. He always liked showing off the little bit of language he knew.

"Alright, I'm playin' it your way. No arguments from my end. Let's just get the target" he glared at Croaker, "before time's out, ok?" Spiff double-checked his alarm, assuring that it was still set for 5 minutes before the call deadline. He followed the group to the van.

The Mean Streets – Upper East Side – Night City – 12:22am
The wind picked up as Spiff finished speaking to his hombres. Roller was obviously not happy with the arrangement, jerking his head up in defiance of the directives. His had fell to the weapon tucked in his low waistline, but he didn’t draw it. Croaker was already walking back towards the van, but Peacekeeper and Preacher remained. That hothead could very well get himself shot dead if he wasn’t careful. There was no denying that though he’d called them smalltimers, the people packing heat alongside Peacekeeper were definitely more capable of boring holes in your head with a .44 API round than the slag Spiff’d brought along for the ride.

“Parte posteriora abajo, amigo. Conseguí éste, y usted sabe que él pagará.” Coyote growled followed immediately by a sniff. Though the ganger wasn’t looking at his partner, he was obviously speaking to him.

“Sí, él pagará, pero solamente si él no es muerto,” Roller replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Él no morirá. Miraré sobre él como él es bebé de mi entrada. Él volverá en una salud mejor que él a la izquierda.” The two Mexicans laughed and Roller gave Spiff a quick nod.

“All right, gato,” he said. “Coyote’s got yer back. I’ll wait fer ya on the dark side. I’m out.” Sniffing again, Roller backed up three paces, flashed his gang’s symbol over his chest, then ducked into the cab. “We’re out!” he declared loud enough for those still waiting in the rain to here. The cabbie was only too happy to oblige which meant that Spiff would have to settle the debt of the fare with Roller when he paid him. Here’s for hoping the ganger didn’t decide to go clubbing on his dime…

“Well, amigo,” Coyote flung a hand after the retreating forms of Peacekeeper and Preacher as they made their way to the van and the fixer began to follow. “I gotta tell ya, I don’t like this. Jus’ so’as ya know.”

Within seconds the two were out of the rain in the dark pitch of the cargo area with the rest of the group.

The Mean Streets – Upper East Side – Night City – 12:23am

Bullseye saw the group head for the van and one of the gunmen head back to the cab, ‘One down one more to go, perhaps,’ he thought to himself as he started the van and readied for what ever was next.

“All right, gato,” Roller said. “Coyote’s got yer back. I’ll wait fer ya on the dark side. I’m out.” Sniffing again, he backed up three paces, flashed his gang’s symbol over his chest, then ducked into the cab.

As the others turned back to the van, Spiff massaged his forehead. Damn gangbangers givin' me a bad name. but his thoughts were interrupted by Coyote's voice.

“Well, amigo, I gotta tell ya, I don’t like this. Jus’ so’as ya know.”

I know what you mean. Spiff glanced about himself anxiously as they staggered into the van. He scrolled through his contacts for "Elizabeth" again.I'll be damned if she's bouncin' out of this one. He pressed send and put the phone to his hear, curling up in a corner of the truck.

"Ah," Elizabeth's voice was filled with sarcasm when she answered after the first ring. "I suppose you're wanting something in return for the warning? Look, Spiff, you're messing with the heat, savvy? You gave us the bell, so I'm gonna give you one. Stallion won't take kindly to anyone messin' with his input. You got the opportunity, don't be anywhere near the Hole when it goes down, or you'll wind up in a body bank."

That said, the Wild Thing hung up, not even allowing the fixer a word in edgewise. Chances were, she'd be blocking his number for a few days until she was sure things were clear.

Spiff's eye's widened and he looked at the floor of the van, idly flipping his phone open and closing it again. Either this is really the spot, or she's bluffing. He glanced at the other people in the van briefly before staring back at the floor. Well, according to me, sh*t's going down here, so either way I'd be at risk. But why would they leave? He couldn't make sense of any of it. But I gave her an easy way out.
His forehead tensed up again and he looked at the others once more, deciding on what to tell them. "Let me try that again." He smiled up at them, praying they wouldn't catch his lie. He scrolled back through the list. He clicked on "Choirgirl" and put the phone back to his ear.

((edited...you'll see why))

The phone rang twice, then went to voicemail. "You've reached Choirgirl. Leave your number honey, and I might give you a call back... if you're lucky." Spiff sighed. He felt even more guilt at the possibility that the girl really could be at the locale after he said she wasn't.

He pulled the phone back from his ear and scrolled again. It was about time for the Reverend to have some info. The phone responded with a remake of Valley of Death. It hung that way for a couple of seconds before being answered, "Speak, and know that God is watching."

"Ok, Rev, you've had near an hour now. You got any info on the bird?"

"Actually, hombre, I was just getting ready to dial you." Spiff smiled at the others as the reverend talked. "Seems the little hussy never leaves this place near the bridge. They call it the Hole," his eyes widened and he put up his other hand, putting up a stop-sign, "but my sources say it ain't nothing like a hole. The Wild Things've been comin' into cash heavy lately an' this place is all hooked up. Local retailers've been selling Braindance, dealers on the street've been selling out of drugs, combat and recreational, and the street vendors've sold out of their heavy hardware. Those close t' the bid dog have taken t' calling little ol'd Merry Deth, Queen Mary. I was told t' shake it quick when I asked for more information on her direct-like. Seems they don't take kindly to people pokin' their nose in her business.

"You know what you got yerself into, gato? This is mucho caliente, neh?"

"Yeah, I know how deep I'm in Rev. Sadly, you don't. Look, what do you know about the Hole? Is there any info on how many gang members are in it? Moreover, have you heard any details about Wild Thing movement in the area recently? Heck, I'd take schimatics at this point!" Spiff looked about the band at the rag-tag bunch. If he was going after the 'Queen Mary' of the Wild Things, they were going to need more firepower. Sure, Spiff had an armed escort, but he'd be nothing more than a human shield after a few seconds of firing. Spiff wondered if Roller was too far away to call back...

Croaker having positioned himself across from Spiff and Spiff’s bodyguard watched as the fixer started making phone calls. On the first call with his phone to his ear he seemed to be only listening as his lips did not move. Thanks to the noise of the heavy rain Croaker was unable to hear what if anything the fixer was saying but the nomad could see the Fixer was unhappy with what he seemed to be hearing. Then the first call was over and Croaker could tell by the way the Fixer seemed not to meet his eyes and kept focusing on the floor of the van, that he seemed uneasy. (using perception & awareness/notice)
Finally Spiff looked up smiling and did speak
""Let me try that again." Then it was back to his phone and another call he did start.

The whole time since first meeting Spiff, Croaker had been playing the Fixers first words over and over in his head

"You can save your time and energy. She's not here. I need to make more phone calls, but I've already got my men looking for her, and I've got connections at the top of the Wild Things. I can tell you right now, they know that something's up."
And he always came back to that last part "They know something’s up" Well just how in the hell would they know that, Croaker was in no way a trusting soul ,except for Jaimy, and this struck him as a bit of loose lips sink ships thing.
Could the Fixer or even Spring Heeled Jack be playing them all for fools. Well time to find out and get some answers and so he took it upon himself once again to get the ball rolling.

"Bulls Eye lets get rolling head to the next possible local on Mery Deth."
Turning to Spiff as he seemed to finish a third call Croaker looked behind the fixer as if seeing something.

"Crap what’s that"
and without any hesitation or indication of his thoughts, as soon as all eyes did turn to look he quickly pulled the Armalite pistol from his holster and causally pointed it right between the fixers eyes.

"Firewind would you be so kind as to relieve Mr Coyote of his weapons while Peacekeeper keeps him covered. I really would hate to have to kill him at this time.
Ok Mr Fixer something you said has been biting my ass and I want some answers.
Just how did the Wild Things know something was going down. Who is your connection inside the Wild Things and did you tell them anything about us.
You better tell me a good one if your planning on lying to me, for if you do lie and I pick it up, Jack or no Jack I will casket your ass where you sit. Do you understand me."
Croaker kept his gun pointed at the fixer waiting a reply he hoped would not be a lie, if he did lie, then Croaker would first knee cap him and then work his way up....

Before Bullseye could take his foot off the brake and on the gas Croak pulled his move, Bullseye simply left his foot on the brake and put the van back into park. Glancing over to the passenger seat, “Well that did not take him long. Perhaps we can stop him from gutting this one.” Bullseye leans back in his seat, “Big children and their toys. Why is it the two biggest child units on the block have to bump heads?” Bullseye went to scanning the lot for any movement.

Peacekeeper never took her eyes off of Spiff except when she was eyeing the latino gangster. She sat with her back against the wall of the van, and ran her hand through her hair again, moving the wet strands out of her face. She could feel the water sliding down her back as it spilled down from her hair. She rested her hands on her upper thighs right up next to her hips, her feet planted flat on the floor of the vehicle. She listened intently in case she would be able to hear anything of importance on either end of the phone calls Spiff was making.

Her ears perked up and her eyes narrowed on Spiff as she saw the expression on his face on that last call. She was itchin’ to know who he was calling and what info was being given or received. She didn’t like this scum, and trusted him even less.

Without warning Croaker pulled his gun on Spiff, and before he had uttered his first word, Peacekeeper held the muscle bound side kick in her sites with her pistol pointed directly at his forehead. Without words, her look told him he better not even think about trying anything or he’d be dead before he could flinch.

Firewind placed his free hand out and advised “Mr. Coyote, you have a better chance of living if you had over all your weapons butt first.”

Spiff was still on the phone with Reverend as he noticed the others starting to pull guns on him. "Well now," he smiled, the phone still at his ear. "I'll have to call you back Rev." He stood up, his stop sign hand reaching out in front of Coyote to keep control at least over his own man in the situation.

Spiff pocketted his phone as several more guns were pulled and Coyote was asked to hand over his weapons. "You can stop disarming my guy. You're going to need him. Now chill for a sec, 'cause I'd be more than happy to go this alone and leave you all scraping at the gutters for some chick you ain't got a chance in hell of finding tonight. Simply, you guys have the firepower, but you ain't got the contacts." He glanced at Preacher, noting an obvious techie-ness about him and smiled. "Hell, I'll bet you guys have even been stompin' around blowing holes in things looking for answers. Bet you've even got a media or two on your tail. To think, you're worried about the guy who's here to help you, on Jack's request no less." He shook his head, looking at the floor.

"Now, my girl is called Elizabeth and she's a higher up in the Wild Things. I did not tell her about you all lady and gents. I told her that bringing Merideth to me would save her a whole lot of hassle though." He sighed, lowering his sunglasses to look Croaker in the eyes. "You can kill me if you think it'll do you any good sunshine, but I ain't after your girl," he glanced at Peacekeeper and grinned, "and I don't care if you guys want to run off without me. I'll go it alone and probably get the bird before you do, and with less hassle." He readjusted his sunglasses and motioned to Coyote to step back out of the van.

He sighed and looked back at the assembled crew. "I said you were rag-tag buddy. I never said you couldn't handle yourselves. So shoot me if you think it'll get you a leg up. But we're after the same thing, and like it or not, I got the connections to help you get it."

He was done talking to this crew. He picked up his cell phone again and started dialing his Lieutenant. Either way, he needed to finish that conversation.

As Croaker listened to Spiff reply to his gun forced questions, the Nomad watched Spiff’s body language for any of the many tall tell signs that the fixer was lying to them.
For the first time since the fixer had opened his mouth upon meeting them, though by far he still not trust the Fixer 100%, Croaker believed him. Putting the Armalite away he motioned to Peacekeeper and Firewind to do the same.

"Ok Spiff sit back down, its all good, I believe you, thanks for the honesty as I really did not want to kill the both of you."
Croaker waited while the Fixer and his body guard returned to seated positions and the tenseness of the moment subsided before speaking again.

"Ok now that we are all on the same page so to speak lets not waste any time on worrying about what just happened and get down to business. You say Mery Deth is not here so where is she then.
Croaker hoped the Fixer was a professional as he himself was and would be able to forgive and forget at least until the run was over. The Nomad having the lives of 4 other people in his hands had to make sure of their relative safety and had done what he felt he had to, to get the answers needed. As far as he was concerned the gun pulling on each other was over and now was the time to finish the run as a team.

If Spiff wanted to bring the matter of Croaker having held a gun on him after the run well that was then and Croaker would deal with it at that time....

"She is here." He sighed. "It appears I was mistaken. Seven of the guards that were here just bugged out, looking for more firepower I'm guessing. Still, none of them were female. She's still here and probably very well guarded. We're gonna need a better plan than to walk in blasting if we want to take her without a scratch, as I understand is the way her family wants her."

He glanced at his phone, debating pressing send on the Reverend's name. "I've got my lieutenant on the case and I need to see what else he knows. At the very least I imagine he can get us blue-prints so we aren't going into that building blind. Also, don't know if you guys know any of this, but she's dating one of the big-timers in the Wild Things. Stallion's his name."

He dialed the Reverend and put the phone to his ear. "Alright boys and girl, let's see if I can get us anything else before we run into the Hole digging for a face we've never seen."

OOC: A bit of a back post...

“Yo!” Coyote yelped as Croaker pulled out his gun. “Wha’ th’ frack, hombre!?! Wha’ th’ frack, man!” The uzi he was packing still sat in his back waistline since Spiff had wanted to play it cool, but when the action started, the ganger had managed to get his hand behind his back. That was as far as he got though.

Coyote knew that there was a gun trained on him somewhere... he had expected it. At least one for sure.
His blood raced as he looked to keep his cool – this was the danger of his job… you just never know when everything’s going to go to fracking s***. Looking up briefly, sure enough, Coyote found himself staring down Peacekeeper's piece. Nice.
The bodyguard didn't move, tried to keep his composure. He'd been in this situation before of course... but most of the time, he would be the one to talk his way out of danger.

I just hope Spiff knows how to handle himself… keep it cool…
The fixer put his phone away slowly and motioned for his bodyguard to release his gun. Coyote, knowing it wouldn’t really matter in the end, moved his hand away from the uzi, cool and slowly like.

Croaker asked Firewind to disarm the bodyguard, but Spiff interrupted and looked to chill the heated situation.

Nicely done, hombre, Coyote thought. Just might make it out tonight… Coyote held his weapon by his side again, smiled nicely to Peacekeeper.

(OOC: Welcome to the game Blammm. I edited your post for continuity sake. Coyote never pulled his uzi when stepping into the van so he would not have been able to react. His initiative roll was also abysmal, though you could not have known that since I never relayed that to you. My bad. In any case, we'll move forward from here with Coyote never having pulled his weapon and no need--yet--for anyone to shoot anyone else.)