Outside the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 1:38 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.) Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Having found really no good way in Casino and Fixer moved back to the rest of the group. A short wait and the group, for the moment minus Glahn and Bloodbank, were once more together, all of them coming up empty.

“What do you think?” the crooner poses to his companions while staring into the misty rain at the metal platform above them. “Looks like it could go all the way to the eighth floor…”

“The ladder is on the side over the—” Blossom waves her dainty hand towards the bow in the face of the building’s wall wherein sits the door. “—place where the door is. How’re we going to get up there?”

Looking at the height of the door from the ground Casino knew what to do next, However before he could voice it to the rest,Vegas was cursing loudly for all to hear.

“Sh**!” he hisses into the toxic air.

“What?” Blossom reacts with a startled tone.

“Cred Stick Charlie sent a message some time ago and I’m barely seeing it now. Got one from Starlight too. Looks like we may have another team to deal with. Santa thinks we’re moving a bit slow. Dammit!” Looking up to peer upon his companions, the solo continues with the bad news. “Starlight’s message confirms Charlie’s. She’s also pushing that Charlie is on our team and we’re to make good with him. Cred Stick Charlie says he’s procuring vehicles for us and then will be linking up.”

Though he wanted to voice once again his mistrust of the fixer it was clear he actually was working for Starlight and thus not some wanna be runner. Holding his tongue and thoughts to himself he just listened his idea.

“Ya,” Blossom adds quietly, “he made a request of me to research LEO’s and their schedule to our area just to be sure. Haven’t had time to handle that request yet, though.”

“Just what we need,” Vegas snarls. “Not like we weren’t already painfully aware of the clock we’ve got with the kidnapped kid, but now we’ve got to look over our shoulders for a clean-up crew?

“We’ve gotta wrap this, choombattas,” the well-dressed solo sweeps his eyes over his teammates. “Whatever reservations we’ve had about Charlie’s gotta go. Whatever hang-ups we’ve had about each other’s gotta go. We’ve got two objectives now: stay alive and find that kid before the cleanup crew finds us. That means we’ve gotta work together, keep our heads on a swivel, and be sharp. So, now’s the time to really step up our game. How’re we gonna get our asses up to that office?”

Nodding his head in agreement with his partner he finally moved to get them into the building

“I got this” Moving to stand to the side of the ladder he quickly brought forth from a bracer under his long coat a line of nylon cord with a grappling hook at its head. Aiming for the lowest rung he fired it at the ladder. 

( I assume I got it needing a 7 or lower on a d10 = 2)

Quickly using the now attached cord he moved up easily to the ladderrs base and getting a foothold he uncliped the cord from his bracer throwing the end down to the rest of the party.

“Care to join me anyone?”

Fixer moved with the rest down the alley and took his time to look around carefully - including a quick glance at the camera int he doorway.  He thought he knew the type.  "The camera is in fact a camera.  It probably has infra red and x-ray capability, but it is very unlikely to see anything out of visual of the doorway.  I could be wrong, but it would be out-of-type for it to be able to do so, which means we can probably get to that fire escape without that camera detecting it.  

At that point Vegas spoke up and started to use his grappling hook to link to the fire escape.  Fixer laughed out loud and raised his as well.  "Go ahead big guy and take the shot.  If you miss I'll give it a go."  

(OOC:  I'll get numbers on R20 for taking the shot, but Fixer won't bother doing so unless Vegas misses his attempt.)

Outside the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 2:21 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

“Just what we need,” Vegas snarls. “Not like we weren’t already painfully aware of the clock we’ve got with the kidnapped kid, but now we’ve got to look over our shoulders for a clean-up crew?

“We’ve gotta wrap this, choombattas,” the well-dressed solo sweeps his eyes over his teammates. “Whatever reservations we’ve had about Charlie’s gotta go. Whatever hang-ups we’ve had about each other’s gotta go. We’ve got two objectives now: stay alive and find that kid before the clean up crew finds us. That means we’ve gotta work together, keep our heads on a swivel, and be sharp. So, now’s the time to really step up our game. How’re we gonna get our asses up to that office?”

As the group moves down the alley, Fixer receives a better look at the security on this side of the building while keeping a close eye out for anything useful. He also takes a closer look at the supposed camera in the doorway, keeping out of range of its vision if possible. He expects to see a standard security camera, but it doesn’t really matter, a camera is a camera. He thinks he knows the type.  

"The is, in fact, a camera,” he quietly shares his knowledge with his companions. “It probably has infrared and x-ray capability, but it is very unlikely that it can see anything out of visual of the doorway. I could be wrong, but it would be out-of-type for it to be able to do so, which means we can probably get to that fire escape without that camera detecting it.”  

He listens as the others discuss what to do now and the potential of the clean-up team. Crap. We don’t need that. What they need is to get in this damn building, "Ok, yeah, we are all in this thing. Linking it to the maid service is a big step, but we have to get in this place and quickly. If Charlie has vehicles coming, that is great, but it is great once we are done here, not before. For now, we need up on that fire escape. Anybody have a ladder in their pockets?  Something else?"

Nodding his head in agreement with his partner, Casino finally moves to get them into the building.

“I got this.” Moving to stand to the side of the fire escape furthest from the door alcove, he quickly pulls back the sleeve of his right arm revealing a stylish metal NuCybe bracer. Aiming it at the fire escape, he mentally activates the line of nylon cord with a grappling hook at its head. Aiming for the lowest rung he fires it at the ladder.

Fixer laughs out loud and raises his as well.  "Go ahead big guy and take the shot. If you miss I'll give it a go."

With a whisking sound followed by a small series of gears clicking, the line follows the hook to its target. Unlike a three-pronged grapple, this is a single hook that unfolds just as it strikes effectively making it into a two tooth grapple iron. It slips between the rails and clips on.

Quickly using the now attached cord, he scales the cord with muscular ease until he achieves the base and swinging his leg up he gains a foothold. Pulling the rest of his body upward, he uses his massive upper body strength to finally achieve the platform. Unclipped the cord from his bracer, the big solo throws the end down to the rest of the party.

“Care to join me, anyone?”

“Well done, old son,” Vegas acknowledges his partner’s actions and motions Blossom forward. “You’re next, doll.”

Taking her lolli from her mouth, the netrunner rewraps it in a saved purple wrapper and stuffs it in her pocket. Securing her bag over her shoulder, the little woman makes the climb with little difficulty and with the leather clad solo’s help is up and standing next to him in a little under a minute. While she continues on up the stairs as quietly as she can, Echo makes her move.

The athletic nomad quickly joins the blonde masked man before continuing past him to gain the lead on Blossom, taking the advanced position. Fixer is next up the line and he makes it look easier than any of the others. Watching the techie make his way up, Vegas can’t help but be impressed. His experience with these types of people is that they aren’t nearly as nimble as those the well-dressed solo spends his time with, but this one seems to be doing all right for himself. He’s already followed Ghlahn into heights unknown to the others and now he climbs the cable like a monkey.

Bloodbank here. I'm coming to you guys. If you're in before I arrive I'll wait a little ways outside. I've got a bad feeling that you all may need me more than Ghlahn will.

The radios in the crooner’s, Casino’s, and Fixer’s pockets all crackle with the medtech’s message. Great! Vegas thinks, taking the rope in his left hand. Well, then he’ll just have to get on board, because we don’t have time to dink around anymore.

“Hurry,” the Frank Sinatra look alike says into the mists as he watches back down the alley, producing the radio from his own pocket and keying the mic. “You don’t have much time, Bloodbank. Don’t take the straight approach. Go around back. Copy? I repeat. Go around the back way. Casino will be here waiting for you.”

Returning the device to his pocket, Vegas climbs up the cable as well, joining his partner on the platform. Wiping his hands on his coat, the smaller man turns to Casino and says, “You wait for Bloodbank and then come on up. We still need to get inside without tripping an alarm, so you got time. You good with that?”

(OOC: Assuming there’s no complaint&hellip

With a nod, Vegas continues past him and makes his way up the ladder after the others. At the head of the party, Echo makes a quick mental calculation to determine the floors she’s passing eventually settling on the one that she thinks is the eighth. Blossom arrives just behind her with Fixer on her heels.

They stand on a platform approximately six meters wide and three meters deeps. The stairs continue on up from the far right and the window to the floor is on the left when they face the building. Through the window, they can see the hall beyond. It is carpeted with a blue and black tile patterned covering. The walls are plain white and there’s very little by way of decoration. They can see the doorways to various offices along the length of the hall and at the end, it appears to break into a T intersection. There are no easily discernible security measures in place.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 02:40 AM PST)

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Near the Parking Garage two blocks from the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 02:19 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Ghlahn is not nervous for he does not get nervous, but he is annoyed. The crowd is agitated and on the verge of boiling over into violence and that is not good. Violence brings security and security asks questions and makes break-ins very difficult. More and more people jostle him as they push towards the extremist on the platform.

"Doesn't look like we are gonna find an overwatch spot with all this going on,” the Cee-metal mercenary quietly informs his medtech companion. “Better warn the others."  

With a dark frown adorning his masked face Bloodbank turned back to Glahn. Casting another quick glance over his shoulder towards the frothing mob dispels any last shreds of doubt from Bloodbank’s mind.

"That's probably best," he agrees. It is only going to take a small push over the edge for this group to get really dangerous, and that will bring police and security swooping down on them faster than a... Well, faster then something really fast.

Bloodbank follows Glahn out of the roiling crowd, regretting his inability to do anything to quell them. For now, he has to focus on doing what he can; warning the group inside that there might be unwelcome company joining them shortly.

Making his way to the edge of the swilling crowd, M’haru Ghlahn produces the radio Fixer had built only hours before, "Situation has changed. Huge, angry crowd here likely to attract security in the next fifteen minutes at most. Either be quick or abort. We cannot cover you."

Bloodbank nods to himself. He'd rather abort now and wait to see if the crowd would disperse or at least wait until after the security came and went. But who knew how long that would take, and there was a boy missing. Every hour wasted is another hour that the poor boy could be moved further away, or hurt if it was really that bad. Bloodbank grinds his teeth, they need to go faster.

Requesting the radio from Ghlahn with an outstretched hand, the medtech waits on the delivery. (OOC: Assuming Ghlahn hands over the device&hellip Putting the radio up to his mouth and pressing the button, Bloodbank flatly states, "Bloodbank here. I'm coming to you guys. If you're in before I arrive I'll wait a little ways outside. I've got a bad feeling that you all may need me more than Ghlahn will." Stuffing the radio into his pocket, he asks the sniper, "Are you coming with, or do you intend to wait them out over here?"

“You might want to wait here and see how things unfold,” Ghlahn cautions, but the medtech has obviously made up his mind.

With that, Bloodbank turns and starts a brisk walk towards the Upstairs Downstairs building. Pausing at the street to await an opportunity to navigate through the vehicles that are passing by when he receives a response on the radio.

You don’t have much time, Bloodbank. Don’t take the straight approach. Go around back. Copy? I repeat. Go around the back way. Casino will be here waiting for you.

He recognizes Vegas’ voice.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 02:27 AM PST)

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Edgerunner Enclave | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 12:10 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Your friend, Yo Suk-Chuk, does not answer. Hui’s message is front and center on the screen having been prioritized by the AI in the device once Charlie’s thoughts turned to Hui’s instructions again. Maybe because it is after midnight? I’ll try the others. When will you be home?

Mentally changing his message recipient again, Charlie sets up instructions for Hui to make calls in the morning:

• Yo Suk-Chul, follow-up for some shoes (Passports) so that I can make a stop to drop them off before going to the SF fuel point.
• Fixer Tomás Japón to assist with picking up a vehicle or pick up “shoes” for delivery.
• Fixer Flore "Feathers" Messier to assist with picking up a vehicle or pick up “shoes” for delivery
• Rocker "Kelsey Dawn" to sign for a “Gig” for the battle of the bands at a venue.
• Message “Fluke” three minutes out before landing

Having accomplished that, the fixer turns his attention to some searches in order to further his personal business. He’s holding out hope that Starlight can come through for him with Spring Heel Jack—a mysterious man he’s only met once way back when Charlie joined his organization under Starlight—with the Tong, but in the meantime, he has an already approved business he might be able to automate with an identity printer.

Charlie reflects on this for a brief moment and plans to revisit it later.

Shielding his agent screen from the misting rain, he mentally activates the search feature and types in his search keywords. First, the regular Web, and then, if he doesn’t return anything useful, he’ll plans on diving the Dark Web. As the results come flooding back onto his screen, Charlie finds himself staring at price points of 4,000 cr or more.

“4 racks, damn...” Charlie mutters to himself, coughing a little as he draws in a breath that stings his throat and continues to seek a device that would be able to assist with shoes as well as credit sticks (spoofing). With such a device, he could potentially produce the merchandise himself instead of relying on the resources he’s been using.

A couple of minutes later and the air overhead becomes turbulent as the AV-4 slips into position before descending to the street level. The side door slides open and the comfortable passenger bench seat is presented. Unlike AV-4 evac service vehicles, taxi AV’s have the cabin completely closed off to the passengers with bulletproof lining the likes of which can take a .50 caliber round and probably still be sitting pretty. Climbing into the belly of the boxy beast, Charlie checks his agent for a reply from his new secretary.

“Where to?” the pilot asks over the interior comms system as the side door slides shut and the sounds of the city are neatly barricaded outside.

Your friend, Yo Suk-Chuk, does not answer. Hui’s message is front and center on the screen having been prioritized by the AI in the device once Charlie’s thoughts turned to Hui’s instructions again. Maybe because it is after midnight? I’ll try the others tomorrow morning. When will you be home?

“Hey!” the AV pilot calls through again. “It’s your dime, buddy. You wanna sit here while the meter is running, I won’t complain none.”

Luther pulls the meet location from his agent and relays it to his chauffeur. Dusting off, the AV surges upward causing the fixer’s stomach to lurch a little. Within the passenger’s cabin, he is completely insulated from hearing or seeing any of the pilot’s actions and the assumption is that he shares the same privacy. A screen embedded into the wall separating him from the pilot is playing a local news station but the volume is completely off but the street dealer knows he can control volume and channel with voice commands if he desires (without even having to look at the instructions plastered below the television). While the vehicle makes a beeline for the SanFran Integrate fueling station, he decides to try and fish out whatever potential there might be with the pilot.

“By the way,” he says after activating the internal communication systems, “you have any combat experience in this thing or are you just a regular driver that likes to do his fare and nothing else?”

“If you’re lookin’ for someone to take you into one of the combat zones, I can refer you to a troubleshooter service,” the pilot replies. “I got me a family, choomba. No more risk than necessary for me or the wife’ll have my hide.”

Rubbing his credit stick to emphasize his meaning, Charlie holds the device up to the camera.

“Not even for gold, man,” the offer is answered.

Taking his defeat in hand, the fixer returns his credit stick to his pocket and settles back for the ride. He’s seen the city before and isn’t interested in what it has to offer by way of a view, so his attention is returned to his agent’s screen. Accessing the Chinese Culture eBook he’s purchased, Luther begins to delve into his studies.

While he reads, the AV is navigated through hubs and levels to reach the recommended legal travel altitude for such vehicles with a straight shot by the skyway to the neighboring SanFran Integrate central hub. A ground car would take up to four hours to make the trip. By taking the AV, he’s cut the ride to a little over an hour.

(the Long Mile Fueling Station | SanFran Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 1:18 AM PST --- Weather Conditions: High City (heavy rain, 20mph winds from the N.) | Midcity (light rain, 10mph winds from the N.) | Undercity (fog and drizzle, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 15 | Midcity = 36 | Undercity = 86 (masks required - Red warning)

“We’re coming up on your destination,” the pilot’s call rather abruptly interrupts Luther’s studies, drawing his attention to the windows and what lies beyond.

Kaleidascope colors blur past the rain-soaked glass, streaking and running in lines with the patterns of the wind-swept water. Somewhere along the trip the fixer became subconsciously aware of the van-shaped aerodyne hitting heavier winds and now he fully registers the effects. He’s missed the view of the Bridge, but then, all of the new structure is covered in suspension buildings so there’s really not much to see. He’s also missed the descent through the SanFran Central Hub and all of the traffic involved in that endeavor. Now, the AV is nearing what appears to be an opening in an air shaft that is also lined with suspension structures.

As he watches, they engage in the merging process with the other air vehicles making their way through the gaping maw in the side of the tunnel and the scene rolls out before him revealing a well-planned yet chaotic-looking array of prefab and AI constructed buildings. Here, the winds aren’t as strong and the shuddering of the vehicle is less pronounced. Another couple of minutes and a large platform is born in his eyes approximately twenty stories below with the flickering holographic image of a road passing by and various scenic objects like trees, boulders, etc. passing with it. Words hover above it, “The Long Mile” and below it are the words, “Fueling Station.”

Cred Stick Charlie is taken through this holographic image—right through the center of it—by the taxi as it lands. The doors remain closed with touch down and his agent notifies him that his bill is 2,010 NCDs or credits plus gratuity (15 NCD/mile at 134 miles). Life isn’t cheap when you take luxuries.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 1:31 AM PST)

Ghalan watched as Bloodbank walked off towards the others.  He was going to be in for an unpleasant surprise when he realized what the actual plan entailed.  With the crowd getting more agitated by the minute, Ghalan made sure to stick to the fridge where he could make a quick exit if needed.  For now he simply observed trying to get a read on the outcome. 

Leaving on a AV-4 (Jet Plane) song (Orginal sung by John Denver)
Contris: Open
Tag: Brom Sal

Goals:
Make contact with “Fluke” , ask for ETA
Throw up the drone for casual observations
Use “Darkweb” and three vendors to make a deal for blanks (Shoes) / Pricing please per 10 to 100 count
Find a seat and wait while studying: Chinese Language if possible

Pending:
Charile will Msg “Fluke” three minutes out before landing
Look into his option of identity printer
Study Chinese culture: looking for anything that might help with TONG negotiations, a ritual, proverbs…. Anything that would help this foreigner keep his deal without ruffling feathers.
Have Hui make calls for Mr. Charlie (in the morning) to:
xxx, for some “shoes ( Passports) so that Charlie can make a stop
Fixer one to assit with picking up a vehicle or pick up “shoes” for delivery
Fixer two to assit with picking up a vehicle or pick up “shoes” for delivery
Rocker to sign for a “Gig” for the battle of the bands at a venue (Good roll from prior r20 log)
Reply back to Hui about his time table
———————

(the Long Mile Fueling Station | SanFran Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 1:18 AM PST --- Weather Conditions: High City (heavy rain, 20mph winds from the N.) | Midcity (light rain, 10mph winds from the N.) | Undercity (fog and drizzle, no winds.)
Air Quality Index: High City = 15 | Midcity = 36 | Undercity = 86 (masks required - Red warning)
“We’re coming up on your destination,” the pilot’s call rather abruptly interrupts Luther’s studies, drawing his attention to the windows and what lies beyond.
Luther changes his screens and checks the local weather forecast quickly…
Undercity (fog and drizzle, no winds.) * Masks required - Red warning

Reaching for his Icon America Black Phantom of the Opera Skinmask w/ air filtration (10 filters) he set it on his lap as he watched his decent

Kaleidascope colors blur past the rain-soaked glass, streaking and running in lines with the patterns of the wind-swept water. Somewhere along the trip the fixer became subconsciously aware of the van-shaped aerodyne hitting heavier winds and now he fully registers the effects. He’s missed the view of the Bridge, but then, all of the new structure is covered in suspension buildings so there’s really not much to see. He’s also missed the descent through the SanFran Central Hub and all of the traffic involved in that endeavor. Now, the AV is nearing what appears to be an opening in an air shaft that is also lined with suspension structures.
** Great Grand father your city is still standing and great Luther thinks to himself, Luthers Great grandfather was for the old cites to the east. “East Bay” is what others would call it but to Luther, this way almost like being home. Great Grandfather was of course no longer alive but the memory for him lives in his heart. **

As he watches, they engage in the merging process with the other air vehicles making their way through the gaping maw in the side of the tunnel and the scene rolls out before him revealing a well-planned yet chaotic-looking array of prefab and AI constructed buildings. Here, the winds aren’t as strong and the shuddering of the vehicle is less pronounced. Another couple of minutes and a large platform is born in his eyes approximately twenty stories below with the flickering holographic image of a road passing by and various scenic objects like trees, boulders, etc. passing with it. Words hover above it, “The Long Mile” and below it are the words, “Fueling Station.”

Cred Stick Charlie is taken through this holographic image—right through the center of it—by the taxi as it lands. The doors remain closed with touch down and his agent notifies him that his bill is 2,010 NCDs or credits plus gratuity (15 NCD/mile at 134 miles). Life isn’t cheap when you take luxuries.

Opening his Icon America black leather armored jacket (SP 20) he reached for his “chopped” cred stick to use to transfer his monies.
*Luther grunted to himself
Luther failed to reload this Credit card to the max or maybe he bought something frivolous when chasing some skirt to make a contact, never the less.. It looked like Charlie was still going to … acquire some of his alter ego’s credits.

** damn, I can’t believe that I was caught “slipping” (Blackfolk talk) to told himself in the head, you know better than that Mr Charile… today you might only lose 200.00, but what if…

A soft chime brought him out of his own little world. “ Yeah, nice job one of the best flights that I’ve haved in a long time my friend, Credit stick Charile smiled with his trademark infectious smile.., then donned his Air mask and began the transfer from a “chopped” credit chip to the sum of 2211.00, the 10% was for the working man…

Luther was a working man but if he could “stiff the corp or a mega corp, it was “on and crackin” (Blackfolk) Luther didn’t believe in sticking it to those that had a family and were wage slaves. The transfer of 2010 was done , then Luther used a different cred chip.. For the gratuity which was 201.00. After the doors open he turns to signal to av driver…
"Vaya con Dios" ( Go with God) Spanish translation with a waves and that infectious smile. Luther turns his back to the V/Stol fans that would create “prop wash” as his grandfather would say and with that Luther learned to avoid in time using AV-4/6.

Use Deduction: to figure out and orient himself to this new environ = 13 (fail)
Use Awareness / Notice: check out his surroundings = 11 (Fail)

use dark web Library Search: 17

three vendors: Blank prices in bulk (10-100) "Shoes"

 To Streetdeal: 19

 To Streetdeal:  Rolling 1d10+11 + 0 = (6)+11+0">17

 To Streetdeal:  Rolling 1d10+11 + 0 = (6)+11+0">17

Luther can’t figure out where to meet Fluke and attempts to contact him via agent phone (Fluke)
Luther can’t see if the vehicle is near or not - Luther will make his way near an awning to cover him and make his call to contact Fluke and msg Hui that he has arrived safely and still doesn’t have a time hack for her yet, via msg. Maybe Luther should just wait under that 20 story sign?…

* opens up his drone and places it in service quickly overhead

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 1:31 AM PST)

Having reached the 8th floor on the fire escape Fixer carefully studied the window.  He had half expected a door, but many highrises didn't like putting doors on the upper floors and instead used windows that could be opened in an emergency.  In Fixer's mind this qualified as an emergency, so they would just have to open the window.  He'd spent a little time working for a security comapny so he did his best to put that experience to good use and looked for clues about they type of protection they faced.  

His eyes scanned the edges of the window and . . . yes, there it was.  A motion based system to secure the window.  He looked up at the others and offered up his new found information.  "Ok, there is a secirity system here.  There are two motion detectors.  One is on the window itself, right at the bottom.  The others is on the wall just below the window.  If the window is opened the sensors move further apart and the alarm sounds.  In addition, there is almost certainly a noise detection system.  If the window is shattered, it will make noise which again will trigger the alarm."  He stood up from where he had been crouching in his examination of the window.  "Simple, right?  We just need to be able to open the window without moving either sensor and barely making a sound."

Fixer really wasn't sure how to accomplist this.  He needed a minute to think.  "Anybody have cutting tools?  I have a minisaw, but that is it.  We could try to cut around the sensor so that when we lift the window the sensor doesn't move.  Risky."  He paused.  "Better ideas?"

  Ghalan watched as the crowd became increasingly aggitated and moved towards teh building next to the garage.  No way it was going to end peacefully.  Even the guard in the building seemed to understand that somethign bad was in the works and was scanning the crowd that was rapidly approaching the doors.  Surely he woudl call for backup soon if he had not already.  On the plus side, all this might keepanyone from watching the garage.  Taking a calculated risk, Ghalan made his way into the garage and climbed up to a spot he could keep an eye on teh crowd and maybe his companions.  Once in place he radioed the others and gave them an update on his position, the crowd and the name on the building.

Outside the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building Ladder Platform | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 1:38 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.) Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

As Casino watched the rest of the group below him gather themselves to climb up to join him he smiled as Echo was the first to reach him. The athletic nomad quickly, after a brief smile, continuing past him to gain the lead on Blossom, taking the advanced position. Fixer was next up the line making it, to Casino’s surprise, look easier than any of the others.

~Bloodbank here. I'm coming to you guys. If you're in before I arrive I'll wait a little ways outside. I've got a bad feeling that you all may need me more than Ghlahn will.~

“Hurry,” the Frank Sinatra look alike says into the mists as he watches back down the alley, producing the radio from his own pocket and keying the mic. “You don’t have much time, Bloodbank. Don’t take the straight approach. Go around back. Copy? I repeat. Go around the back way. Casino will be here waiting for you.”

Returning the device to his pocket, Vegas climbs up the cable as well, joining his partner on the platform. Wiping his hands on his coat, the smaller man turns to Casino and says, “You wait for Bloodbank and then come on up. We still need to get inside without tripping an alarm, so you got time. You good with that?”With a nod, Vegas continues past him and makes his way up the ladder after the others.

“Yep no problem see you in a few.”

With a nod, Vegas continues past him and makes his way up the ladder after the others. Keeping an eye out for the street medic he hears Ghlahn’s call about the riot and unconscionably finds himself nervously rubbing the trigger guard of the HK under his arm. Riots were never a good thing, though they did need a distraction, and this riot could work out for them. Just as quickly it could turn ultra-violent and more out of control then it already was. For the moment all he could do was wait on Bloodbank to reach him…….

“You might want to wait here and see how things unfold.”

Glahn's words floated past Bloodbank as he pushed his way through the surging crowd of pedestrians. Perhaps it was wise advice, but Bloodbank was quite fed up with waiting. He couldn't do anything to quell the mob behind him -- and people were all to likely to be hurt because of that -- but he could lend his hand back at the Upstairs Downstairs building. Do something to contribute to the discovery of this lost boy. Besides, what help would he be back with Glahn? If some of those entering the Upstairs Downstairs office ran astray of some sort of security and was hurt then he might as well have been on a different continent for all the good he would be. 

The crowded streets impeded his passage almost to the point of frustration. Pedestrians pushing their way past each other with their heads down, getting soaked in the rain, heedless of those around them, jostled Bloodbank as he reached the streetside. Indeed, the MedTech was almost ran over by two men in suits and long rain jackets conferring over a rain speckled agent; he would have been if he hadn't practically leaped away from the streets edge as they walked by. An unnoticed, irritated glance behind his skull painted battle mask at their receding forms was all that Bloodbank gave them, though, and he quickly turned his attention back to the street. It thrummed with traffic loud enough that Bloodbank almost missed the radio as it went off in his pocket.

"You don’t have much time, Bloodbank. Don’t take the straight approach. Go around back. Copy? I repeat. Go around the back way. Casino will be here waiting for you." It was hard to tell, what with the static and the city noise around him, but he was pretty sure that was Vegas speaking. 

"Alright, around back it is then," he mused to himself as a hole in traffic opened long enough for him to splash across. Pulling the radio close to his mask, he radioed back in a clear, but not too loud voice, "Copy. Don't wait for me if needs be. Getting in and out fast should definitely be the priority here."

Fast was definitely how he wanted to do this, who knew how long until that mob boiled over? How long after that until the streets were flooded with security, police, and innocents trying to escape the violence. Bloodbank felt a grimace adorn his face behind the mask. There just wasn't enough time. With that thought in mind, he pushed his way though the wet, wind-blown crowds, moving as quick as he could without drawing too much attention to himself. Hopefully he'd be able to reach Casino and the building quick.

***As Casino watched the rest of the group below him gather themselves to climb up to join him he smiled as Echo was the first to reach him. The athletic nomad quickly, after a brief smile, continuing past him to gain the lead on Blossom, taking the advanced position. Fixer was next up the line making it, to Casino’s surprise, look easier than any of the others.***

Echo, like Vegas, was also annoyed at the prospect of a clean-up crew on it's way, and she knew they now had to move doubly quick to find the boy, methods be damned. She watched Blossom climb up to the waiting solo, and when she was safely on the the platform, Echo began her own ascent. When she took Casino's offered hand of assistance, she met the eyes of the tall man and gave him a warm smile, then continued up to the designated level, easily passing the pretty netrunner to take the lead to the 8th level. Once there, the nomad peered into the window seeing a typical office building hallway lined with doors and a T intersection at the other end. Not one to know much about methods of disabling security measures that she was sure were in place, Echo took up a guard position to cover those to whom the expertise lies, keeping watch both high and low for any to spoil their entry or call attention to them.

{Edit - Changed color, hope this is better. I thought I had the correct red  }

OOC:That red is really hard to read.

It seemed that nobody in the group had any better plans.  Damn, Fixer had been hoping that someone would be better at breaking and entering then he was.  But at least he knew some stuff.  

"Ok, well, if nobody else has a plan, I'm going to get to work and try something.  We can't sit around and wait."  He paused and looked around at the group to see if anyone stopped him.  (OOC:  If anyone does speak up, temporarily disregard what follows.)  Nobody did.  "Ok, lets start with this - if anyone has duct tape, hand it over.  I have some, but the more the merrier.  We are going to take this window one pane at a time.  Step one is to tape the window as much as possible.  This means every square inch of the darn thing.  I'm then going to give it a little love tap in the corner which will cause the thing to shatter into a thousand little granular beads of glass.  That's what tempered glass does.  The tape is to keep it from comng crashing down - if it does it will make noise and the noise based alarm that is almost certainly inside will trigger.  If it does, you can decide if you want to run or just shatter the window and go in with all possible speed."  He again looked around him to see how they reacted to this possibility.  

"Yes, it might happen.  Assuming it works, we then very carefully remove the now shattered outer pane.  Now there is only one pane to go - but remember it has the motion sensor on it and has locks on each side.   We tape like crazy around the motion sensor - that thing can't move on us or again we are busted.  Then it is time for the torch."  Here he held up his cutting torch.  "I'm not going to melt the whole damn window.  That'll take too long and risk having the window shatter on us.  But it is the safest and quitest way to get a hole.  Once we have a hole we can use a glass cutter.  We use tape to make sure things don't fall and gradually cut out pieces. I will need an extra set of hands for this part.  Eventually we can tape around the motion sensor on the inside as well to secure it.  The we cut out as much glass as we need to get in - trying to actually make our entrance away from the sensor."  He grinned.  "Simple, right?  And if all goes well we are in undetected." 

He gathered together all of the tape that the group handed over and started taping, moving as quickly as possible but being carefult to be very thorough in his application of tape - including taping well onto the surrounding window supports - the tape wouldn't help if all those bits of glass weren't still hanging from something.  When the taping was done he pulled out his microtool and hammer.   Again he couldn't help but smile at the others.  "Buckle up folks, you are about to commit a felony.  Either run now or get in position to stabilize that tape when the window goes."  He then placed a sharp piece of his microtool into the bottom right corner of the window and, taking a deep breath to hold steady, placed a cloth over the end to reduce the noise, and gave it a little whack.

Between the Parking Garage two blocks from the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building and the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 02:27 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

"You don’t have much time, Bloodbank. Don’t take the straight approach. Go around back. Copy? I repeat. Go around the back way. Casino will be here waiting for you."

It is hard to tell, what with the static and the city noise around him, but Bloodbank is pretty sure that is Vegas speaking.

"Alright, around back it is, then," he muses to himself as a hole in traffic opens long enough for him to splash across. Pulling the radio close to his mask, he calls back in a clear, but not too loud voice, "Copy. Don't wait for me if needs be. Getting in and out fast should definitely be the priority here."

Fast is certainly how he wants to do this; who knows how long until that mob boils over? How long after that until the streets were flooded with security, police, and innocents trying to escape the violence. Bloodbank feels a grimace adorn his face behind the mask. There just isn’t enough time. With that thought in mind, he pushes his way through the wet, wind-blown crowds, moving as quick as he can without drawing too much attention to himself. Hopefully, he'll be able to reach Casino and the building quickly.

(OOC: Keep reading below, Giddy.)

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 02:35 AM PST)

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Outside the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 2:40 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Vegas continues past Casino as the big man nods and makes his way up the ladder in pursuit of the others. Keeping an eye out for the street medic, Casino hears Ghlahn’s call about the riot and unconscionably finds himself nervously rubbing the trigger guard of the HK under his arm. Riots are never a good thing, though they did need a distraction, and this riot could work out for them. Just as quickly, it could turn ultra-violent and more out of control then it already was. For the moment all he can do is wait on Bloodbank to reach him.

Echo, like Vegas, is also annoyed at the prospect of a clean-up crew on it's way, and she knows they now have to move doubly quick to find the boy, methods be damned. She watches Blossom climb up to the waiting solo, and when she was safely on the the platform, Echo begins her own ascent. Taking Casino's offered hand of assistance, she meets the masked gaze of the tall man and gifts him with a warm smile that she hopes carries through her eyes as her lower face is masked by her balaclava, then continues up to the designated level, easily passing the pretty netrunner to take the lead. Once on what she calculates is the eighth floor, the nomad peers into the window, seeing a typical office building hallway lined with doors and a T intersection at the other end.

Not one to know much about methods of disabling security measures that she was sure were in place, Echo took up a guard position to cover those to whom the expertise lies, keeping watch both high and low for any to spoil their entry or call attention to them.

They stand on a platform approximately six meters wide and three meters deeps. The stairs continue on up from the far right and the window to the floor is on the left when they face the building. Through the window, they can see the hall beyond. It is carpeted with a blue and black tile patterned covering. The walls are plain white and there’s very little by way of decoration. They can see the doorways to various offices along the length of the hall and at the end it appears to break into a T intersection. There are no easily discernible security measures in place.

Reaching the 8th floor on the fire escape, Fixer carefully studies the window while Echo stands watch over them and Blossom performs her own work. He had half expected a door, but many highrises don’t like putting doors on the upper floors and instead use windows that can be opened in an emergency, and such is the case with this structure. In Fixer's mind, this qualifies as an emergency, so they will just have to open the window. He had spent a little time working for a security company, so he does his best to put that experience to good use and looks for clues about they type of protection they face.

Gray optically-spliced eyes scan the edges of the window and... yes, there it is. A motion based system to secure the window. He looks up at the others and offers up his new found information.  

"Ok, there is a security system here. There are two motion detectors. One is on the window itself, right at the bottom. The others is on the wall just below the window. If the window is opened the sensors move further apart and the alarm sounds. In addition, there is almost certainly a noise detection system. If the window is shattered, it will make noise which, again, will trigger the alarm."  

He stands up from where he has been crouching in his examination of the window. "Simple, right? We just need to be able to open the window without moving either sensor and barely making a sound."

Fixer really isn’t immediately sure about how to accomplish this. He needs a minute to think, to mentally review his available inventory of tools. It seems that nobody in the group has any better plans. Damn, Fixer hoped that someone would be better at breaking and entering then he is.  But, at least he knows some stuff.

"Ok, well, if nobody else has a plan, I'm going to get to work and try something. We can't sit around and wait." He pauses and looks around at the group to see if anyone is going to stop him. Nobody does.  

"Ok, let's start with this—if anyone has duct tape, hand it over. I have some, but the more the merrier. We are going to take this window one pane at a time. Step one is to tape the window as much as possible. This means every square inch of the darn thing. I'm then going to give it a little love tap in the corner, which will cause the thing to shatter into a thousand little granular beads of glass. That's what tempered glass does. The tape is to keep it from coming crashing down—if it does it will make noise and the noise-based alarm that is almost certainly inside will trigger. If it does, you can decide if you want to run or just shatter the window and go in with all possible speed." He again looks around him to see how they react to this possibility.

Blossom shrugs and rolls the sucker about in her mouth, its white stick looking like a dainty cigarette. Vegas arrives at about that time and presses his lips together while giving a slow nod.    

"Yes, it might happen,” the techie continues. “Assuming it works, we then very carefully remove the now shattered outer pane. Now there is only one pane to go—but remember, it has the motion sensor on it and has locks on each side. We tape like crazy around the motion sensor—that thing can't move on us or again, we are busted. Then, it is time for the torch."  Here, he holds up his cutting torch. "I'm not going to melt the whole damn window. That'll take too long and risk having the window shatter on us. But, it is the safest and quietest way to get a hole. Once we have a hole, we can use a glass cutter. We use tape to make sure things don't fall and gradually cut out pieces. I will need an extra set of hands for this part. Eventually, we can tape around the motion sensor on the inside as well to secure it. Then we cut out as much glass as we need to get in—trying to actually make our entrance away from the sensor." He grins.  "Simple, right? And if all goes well, we are in undetected."

He gathers together all of the tape that the group hands over and, once Blossom moves out of the way, begins taping, moving as quickly as possible but being careful to be very thorough in his application of tape—including taping well onto the surrounding window supports. The tape won’t help if all those bits of glass aren’t still hanging from something. All-in-all, taping the first pane takes him approximately three minutes. Pulling out his microtool and hammer, he can’t help but smile at the others and while his mouth is covered by the medical mask he wears to protect him from the poor air quality, his eyes twinkle with the wicked humor of the situation.  

"Buckle up folks. You are about to commit a felony. Either run now or get in position to stabilize that tape when the window goes." He then places a sharp piece of his microtool into the bottom right corner of the window and, taking a deep breath to hold steady, places a portion of his jacket over the end to reduce the noise, gives it a little whack.

Feeling, more than hearing, the tempered glass give with the corner pressure, the techie quickly moves to the upper right corner and repeats his action. Again, the glass gives way and he moves to each of the remaining corners to deliver the blow. Vegas is quick to assist in the removal of the taped remnants and just after the shattered pane is set aside, the Frank Sinatra look-alike drops a hand to Fixer’s shoulder and gives him an approving nod.

Now, Fixer is faced with the more delicate procedure. As with the initial pane, he must first carefully tape the glass about where he’s going to break it free while, this time, leaving the section with the sensor intact. He’s performed exacting work before and his cybernetics assist in making sure everything is precisely where he wants it. This takes a little longer than the last window to set up and, finishing the process, the grey-eyed tech mentally calls up the time, seeing that another five minutes have passed.

Meanwhile, the rest of the immediate team stands by and watches. Vegas switches between peering in through the window while it’s view is still unobstructed (imagining security walking into the long hall beyond and a huge, explosive gunfight concluding the event) and scanning the alley and adjacent building’s windows. Blossom keeps her eyes on the data packets she can trace moving between the City’s internet and the building’s smartcore. She’s looking for any increase in packet size and stream which will indicate a potential alert to outside services and so far, she hasn’t seen any.

A few flights of water dusted metal platforms and stairs below, Casino scans the alley and the adjacent building. Blank, dark windows are the fare across the way, but that doesn’t mean someone isn’t watching. With his visor-enhanced vision peering through the combat mask, the big man eventually sees Bloodbank appear at the end of the alley and start making his way towards the fire escape.

Walking quickly around an entire city block without drawing attention to oneself isn’t an easy thing. People mull about, mostly, slowly making their way to their destinations at this time of night. There’s very little urgency; it’s the weekend, after all. Most of the corporate drones are home with their families and factory workers have already started their shifts. This lot that the medtech has to contend with are streetwalkers, criminal elements, and night owls with nothing better to do. They have the time to sit and think about why someone is running through the dirty mist.

Arriving at the mouth of the alleyway, Bloodbank quickly scans the path ahead. Garbage, soaked through by the drizzle. A dumpster, massive and black in the poorly illuminated confines of the narrow street. The fire escape with the hulking figure of Casino shadowed against the lights of the street where the riot is building up… no other potential danger. Now, now the medtech can run.

Using the glass cutter, Fixer scores the area he wishes to cut free—the portion of the tempered glass with the sensor glued to it. The hope is that the tempered property of the surface doesn’t cause the pebbling effect now that the glass has been properly scored. This takes a couple of minutes of work, running that diamond-edged roller across the slick surface multiple times to ensure the groove is deep enough to catch the impact is like surgery.

Arriving at the space beneath the platform upon which Casino waits, Bloodbank begins to scale the dangling chord. He slips a couple of times, but is finally able to reach a point where the newly-masked solo can help hoist him over the railing. Casino gathers his cable up again, attaching it to his bracer where the mechanism immediately begins to coil its length.

Finally ready to repeat the shattering process on this pane, Fixer moves his tools to the first corner and takes a deep breath before giving the back of the multitool a solid tap with his hammer, once again using the edge of his jacket as a buffer to silence the metal on metal clang. No cracks appear in the sensor area of the glass, so the techie continues. No cracks after the second corner… none after the third… none after the fourth… none just above the sensor area. The scoring did its job. Pushing against the taped pane, Fixer feels it gently snap away from the remaining glass bearing the sensor, and Vegas once again helps move the trapped crumble of tempered glass away from the opening as the hall beyond is infiltrated by the sounds of the city for the first time in a very long time (most likely).

With the cable now coiled, Casino and Bloodbank make their way up the fire escape as quickly as possible without causing the clapping of booted feet on steel to raise an alert.

Soft glowing overhead lights illuminate the carpeted hall, the misty rain from the edgerunner’s position already dampening the blue fabric just inside the building. A closed door is ahead and on the right by about nine to ten meters away, and just beyond that, the hall jags a little to the left before continuing on into what looks like more open spaces.

Utilizing his enhanced vision, Vegas peers down the entire length of hall, his hand on his Mark II with the weapon still in its holster.

Turning to his companions, the crooner holds a finger to his lips and then carefully steps over the window sill, lifting his overcoat like skirts to avoid it scraping the remaining glass and sensor. Now inside the building, the solo steps aside and turns to help the next person through.

(OOC: Each of you need to make a Stealth roll entering the building. Feel free to also roll for Combat Sense and/or Awareness/Notice if you’d like to have your characters perform such actions and if you have the skills. Those of you who don’t have Stealth will need to just add your DEX to a 1d10 roll.)

As the last of the group who had witnessed the marvel of Fixer’s handiwork enter, Bloodbank and Casino quietly emerge onto the platform and join their companions.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 03:03 AM PST)

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Near the Parking Garage two blocks from the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 02:27 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Ghlahn watches as the crowd becomes increasingly agitated and moves towards the building next to the garage. No way it is going to end peacefully. Even the guard in the building seems to understand that something bad is in the works and is scanning the crowd that’s rapidly approaching the doors. Surely, he will call for backup soon if he hasn’t already. On the plus side, all this might keep anyone from watching the garage.

Taking a calculated risk, Ghlahn ducks back into the crowd and begins to slip through them to the alley the group had just emerged from. Chain link fencing covers the gaps between the cement levels and pillars. It isn’t a difficult climb and soon, Ghlahn finds himself hanging from a chain link spacer four stories up. This is the level he can keep an eye on the crowd and maybe his companions from. There’s a small gap at the top of the fencing, between the underside of the next level and the sharp, pointy ends of the obstacle, but other than that, the only way through will be to cut.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 02:32 AM PST)

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the Long Mile Fueling Station | SanFran Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 1:31 AM PST --- Weather Conditions: High City (heavy rain, 20mph winds from the N.) | Midcity (light rain, 10mph winds from the N.) | Undercity (fog and drizzle, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 15 | Midcity = 36 | Undercity = 86 (masks required - Red warning)

“We’re coming up on your destination,” the pilot’s call rather abruptly interrupts Luther’s studies, drawing his attention to the windows and what lies beyond.

Kaleidoscope colors blur past the rain-soaked glass, streaking and running in lines with the patterns of the wind-swept water. Somewhere along the trip the fixer became subconsciously aware of the van-shaped aerodyne hitting heavier winds and now he fully registers the effects. He’s missed the view of the Bridge, but then, all of the new structure is covered in suspension buildings so there’s really not much to see. He’s also missed the descent through the SanFran Central Hub and all of the traffic involved in that endeavor. Now, the AV is nearing what appears to be an opening in an air shaft that is also lined with suspension structures.

As he watches, they engage in the merging process with the other air vehicles making their way through the gaping maw in the side of the tunnel and the scene rolls out before him revealing a well-planned yet chaotic-looking array of prefab and AI constructed buildings. Here, the winds aren’t as strong and the shuddering of the vehicle is less pronounced. Another couple of minutes and a large platform is born in his eyes approximately twenty stories below with the flickering holographic image of a road passing by and various scenic objects like trees, boulders, etc. passing with it. Words hover above it, “The Long Mile” and below it are the words, “Fueling Station.”

Cred Stick Charlie is taken through this holographic image—right through the center of it—by the taxi as it lands. The doors remain closed with touchdown and his agent notifies him that his bill is 2,010 NCDs or credits plus gratuity (15 NCD/mile at 134 miles). Life isn’t cheap when you take luxuries.

Reaching for his Icon America Black Phantom of the Opera Skinmask w/ air filtration, he sets it on his lap as he watches his decent.

Great Grandfather, your city is still standing and great, Luther thinks to himself, his Great Grandfather was from the old cities to the east; “East Bay” is what others would call it, but to Luther, this was almost like being home. Great Grandfather was, of course, no longer alive but the memory for him lives in his heart.

Opening his Icon America black leather armored jacket, he reaches for his “chopped” cred stick to transfer his monies. Grunting to himself, Luther realizes that he had failed to reload this credit stick to the max, or maybe he had bought something frivolous when chasing some skirt to make a contact, nevertheless, It looks like Charlie is going to... acquire some of his alter ego’s credits.

Damn, I can’t believe that I was caught slipping (Blackfolk talk), he mentally chastises, You know better than that, Mr Charlie... today, you might only lose two hundred, but what if...

A soft chime brings him out of his own little world, “Yeah, nice job. One of the best flights that I’ve had in a long time, my friend,” Cred Stick Charlie smiles with his trademark, infectious grin. Donning his mask, he initiates the transfer from a “chopped” credit chip to the sum of 2211.00, the 10% is for the working man.

Luther is a working man but if he could “stiff the corp, megacorp, or neocorp,” it was “on and crackin” (more Blackfolk). Luther doesn’t believe in sticking it to those that have a family and are wage slaves.

The transfer of 2010 finishes and Luther uses a different cred chip for the gratuity, which is 201.00. After the doors open, he turns to signal to AV driver.

"Vaya con Dios" (Go with God, Spanish translation) he declares with a wave and more of that infectious smile. Turning his back to the V/Stol fans that are creating “prop wash,” as his grandfather would say, Luther avoids much of the swirling maelstrom of nasty wet that’s raised as the vehicle takes flight.

Unfamiliar with his surroundings, and more than a little harried, the fixer immediately makes his way over to the fueling station’s building. He still has a little while before his contact, Fluke, is supposed to arrive with the air jeep, so the well-dressed man ducks inside the establishment and scans the layout, searching for a place to do some work.

As with most waystations along the massive string of freeways stretching across California, the Long Mile caters to those who are on a journey, like freight truckers who still deign to brave the wilds, nomads, and corporate families making road trips. There are three fast food restaurants inside, but only one is still open… McDee’s. In the back, there will be coffins, even a few showers and some laundry services, but the best place to sit will be in the restaurant.

(OOC: Is Luther going to sit outside on one of the benches under the building’s awning, or stay in the building, grab some grub, and wait with a view of the parking lot?)

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 1:40 AM PST)

It was incredibly frustrating trying to move quickly without looking like one was moving quickly, something Bloodbank was painfully aware of. His boots splashed through puddles as he moved his way through the crowd of undesirables, accenting every brisk step he took, every squish or splosh marking one pace closer to his destination. The MedTech hoped that his brisk pace was one that an idle passerby would mistake for one of a man that just wanted to get out of the rain, but ultimately his impatientance wore at him, slowy driving the caution from his mind.

It was with a sigh of relief that he entered the alley way behind the Upstairs Downstairs building; a bleak, dimly lit corridor deserted by all but a large figure standing on a fire escape, far enough away that -- if not for the sake of his optical splices -- he would not have noticed him. Bloodbank broke into a run, trying to avoid both the piles of rotting garabage and the larger puddles of soiled water. 

"Do you know how close they are to getting in?" Bloodbank asked quietly as he reached the slim cord dangling beneath the large Solo.

“Hopefully close as we need to hurry this up. Grab the rope I got you," Casino replied, looking down at Bloodbank.

Bloodbank nodded as he began to climb the cord, giving it a quick tug beforehand to ensure that it was secure. To his embarrassment, however, he only made it about three feet up before his grip slipped and he fell. Thankfully the fall wasn't high and he landed on his feet. With a wry grin hidden behind his battlemask, he made another attempt, barely making it halfway before he slipped again and fell. 

"Rope's slippery," he half muttered, gesturing in a noncommital manner.

“Grab the rope I’ll help by pulling you up with it," was the reply Bloodbank received.

Bloodbank wasted no more time then that though, and tried once more. This time, to his immense relief, he made it up high enough to clasp Casino's hand and get pulled the rest of the way up.

With a murmered thanks Bloodbank moved away from the edge of the fire escape, waiting for the solo to collect his rope  before leading the way up the steep metal staircases. Bloodbank wasn't the greatest fan of heights -- especially if the terrain he was walking on was slick with rain -- but the dull, serrated metal ridges on the steps made for good footing, and as he climbed up Bloodbanks largest concern was that the smallest noises seemed to resonate throughout the hollow metal railings and piping. In fact, a small clink of metal on metal seemed to turn into a violent clang that to reverberated throughout the vacant alley. At least, that was how Bloodbank felt as he tried to quickly creep his way up the staircase.

His worries seemed to be baseless, however, as he and Casino made it up to the proper floor without any significant incident. The rest of the group seemed to have already handled the actual breaking part of breaking and entering; indeed, they were already in the process of doing the entering. Without a word, Bloodbank nodded to those still outside, and quietly waited his turn to enter. From what he could see past his companions, the dimly lit hallway was blessedly dry and -- more importantly -- it looked deserted. Silently, Bloodbank thanked his lucky stars as his turn to enter came, who would've known what would have happened if there had been someone in there. He tried his best to be as stealthy as the others, but with a clearer view available into the hallway he noticed something he hadn't seen before: some small white boxes with opaque glass noses that cover a full 180 degrees semicircle from the base of the box located at the joint of the ceiling and wall about halfway down the first stretch of the hall.

Bloodbank had no idea what those were, but he knew that he didn't like the ideas that came to mind. Holding his fist up to warn Casino behind him, he gently tapped the person in front of him and pointed to the boxes, his unseen eyebrows raised behind his rain sleeked battlemask. 

Outside the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building Ladder Platform | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 1:38 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.) Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Waiting quietly Casino made sure to remain alert, his eyes always moving, scaning the area around him. Then the big solo spotted Bloodbank as the medic broke into a run, trying to avoid both the piles of rotting garabage and the larger puddles of soiled water.

“Do you know how close they are to getting in?"

Bloodbank asked quietly as he reached the slim cord dangling beneath the large Solo

“Hopefully close as we need to hurry this up. Grab the rope I got you.”

Bloodbank nodded as he began to climb the cord, giving it a quick tug beforehand to ensure that it was secure. To his embarrassment, however, he only made it about three feet up before his grip slipped and he fell. Thankfully the fall wasn't high and he landed on his feet. With a wry grin hidden behind his battlemask, he made another attempt, barely making it halfway before he slipped again and fell.

"Rope's slippery,"

Casino watched as Bloodbank,gesturing in a noncommital mannner, grabbed the rope and tried once more.

“Grab the rope I’ll help by pulling you up with it”

This time, to his immense relief, he made it up high enough to clasp Casino's hand and get pulled the rest of the way up. With a murmered thanks Bloodbank moved away from the edge of the fire escape, waiting for the solo to collect his rope before leading the way up the steep metal staircases.

With his rope back in his bracer Casino took one last good look to see if they hads been spotted then quickly followed Bloodbank to catch up with the rest of the group............