Ten-thousand Golden Paths [IC]

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:50, 1-6-75

As Saito locates the group and takes a seat, the suited ork finishes up his last slurp of noodles and takes a greater interest in the group arrayed around him. He pushes the bowl to the side and folds his hands in front of himself on the table. He settles cool grey eyes on each member of the group in turn, and speaks in a clipped, efficient tone, much different from the rough tone he initially took with Judge.

"Evening. You can all call me Mr. Hei. No, I'm not Ms. Wu. Thank you for joining me here on such short notice. I realize the invitation was rather terse, but my employer is not given to explaining herself, and it is not my place to alter her words. My employer has a number of tasks to be completed that require discretion, thoroughness, and efficiency. This is where you come in. You will be well-compensated, and should you complete all tasks to satisfaction, the compensation will be commensurately greater. If this is something you are interested in, we will leave here for somewhere more private. If not, please enjoy your night and farewell. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them, but I cannot answer any questions as to the exact nature of your job, at least not here."

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her cheery demeanor had drained away during Mr. Hei's talk, to be replaced by her usual paranoia - and not without cause. "I think I'd like to hear more about this private location, first." Among other things, she also wanted to remind Jana that, despite having never been turned into some kind of martial arts death-on-legs, Sidney had worked for a national crime fighting agency herself and was hardly a stranger to bad news and bad people. "More than one bunraku chip-slave got their start by following a man to a strange place on the promise of a job. I doon't suppose yer van is full of candy?" A bit of her accent slipped out in the last line, but it was still clear enough. "That was hyperbole, but this is shady even by the standards of Johnsons. You've more than implied that if we go with you, we've already agreed to a job we know nothing about. And if that isn't the case, why didn't we just meet there?"

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Quan's Famous Noodles

Judge allowed his smirk to linger upon hearing the woman's codename, mentally feeding the info to his Agent working the searches. He was about to respond in kind when their table was greeted by one more face: a male ork, looking quite a bit older than the rest of them, wearing a somewhat disheveled business suit. One quick glance affirmed him that this ork meant to sit there; he was here for the same reasons the three of them were...or four, in this case, as Mr. Hei introduced himself.

He remained silent, listening to his spiel about their job, his smirk half-fading as his sunglasses shielded his eyes. He even suppressed a small chuckle of appreciation at Zero's retort, his mind already working out the possible answers.

To pick this location was smart, actually...this Ms. Wu is protecting her identity so we can't learn anything about her that she doesn't want to hear, and sending this mook to act as her tongue...I'll wager his chrome allows her full view of us and that the messages I saw were between them. If we had started at someplace private, it is just as likely we could have geeked this pawn and be none the wiser..no, the public meet was the smartest option. Well played, Ms. Wu..

The elf's accent caught him offguard a little as well; he had dealings with Tir Taingre elves while in UCAS, but this would be the first Tir Na Nog'ian. Combine with the German woman and the notably Far Eastern ork, they truly were a melting-pot team. Oh joy. "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker~" he muttered under his breath before finally speaking up. "Agreed, knowing where we're going would help. A little assurance that we aren't winding up ARO epitaphs on the wall of a certain host I know of might go a long way towards our cooperation, you hear?"

Heaving a sigh, Judge leaned forward, reaching up and pulling off his glasses with one flick, his white-silver irises adjusting to the shift in lighting. "Let's look at it this way. You found us and contacted us directly. That means you know what we do, and that we are good at what we do. That means you know we can do what it is you want us to do, and want this meet to work out. Plus, I have a feeling that your beloved Ms. Wu would agree with me on this: you would have a hard time finding replacements for us." Lifting his hands up, he heaved a small sigh. "Surely we can see eye to eye on this?"

Spoiler: OOC

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back-up Face-ing go! Hoping I did this right, please ping me if I didn't

Spoiler: Status

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Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4), Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Smooth-talking to Mr. Hei. I believe this calls for Negotiation, but feel free to ignore if not. Judge's base pool lacking modifiers is 6d6

[The Blue Guard]

Jana - Quan's Famous Noodles, Kwun Tong

Jana, once again, stared, and said nothing while the others spoke. Whoever it is thinks they're very clever, she mentally mumbled. But whoever it is isn't as smart as they think they are, she continued. A paranoid employer that thinks too much of their own intelligence. "Merde," she involuntarily mumbled under her breath as made a bad decision. Jana wanted to leave, but she'd decided to stay. Part of it was the guilt she'd feel if Sidney or the old ork became headlines, but most of it was the promise of steady work. She had enough money that she could take one or two jobs this month and have enough to cover next month's bills, but there was always the month after that (and the month after that, and so on, and so forth). For steady work she was willing to walk the tightrope that was working for somebody who thought they were a genius.

Inclining her head she looked at Sidney, and then back to the ork, waiting for him to reply to her question.

Spoiler: OOC

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Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:51, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei gives a long, stony look at Zero-day, then shifts his gaze over to Judge. He lays his hands down on the table, ever so carefully . . . then cracks a slight smile. "Excellent. We knew you were competent based on the accumulated data, but we wanted to make sure you had good instincts too. A runner that is so desperate or so trusting to follow anyone, even a potential employer, somewhere without knowing more beforehand isn't someone we qould be interested in dealing with."

He re-focuses on Judge. "However, you have made two mistakes. First, I can assure you that there is nothing "beloved" about Ms. Wu. Second, you should not assume that you are irreplaceable, because you most certainly are not."

He pulls out a gray metal hemisphere, places it on the table, then presses a button on the side. A momentary humming is heard, but it quickly fades into the background. "Now we run little risk of being overheard by anyone who happens to be listening surreptitiously. For your first task, we have something rather easy, but it needs to be done quickly. There is a certain factory that we need taken off-line in a most spectacular way, but not permanently decommissioned. The base pay is 5000 nuyen each. Should you manage to make a show of it, or otherwise go above and beyond merely stopping production, a bonus is not out of the question."

[SlyJohnny]

Saito nods in greeting to the others as he sits down. He greets the other ork solemnly, but briefly, sensing that false obsequiousness isn't the way to go with this character, and that he's keen to crack on. The others are already in conversation, so he doesn't announce himself immediately, merely watches the interaction.

The man who calls himself Judge has a cocky, crass kind of social bravado, and the slick look to match it. Saito is uncertain at this early stage how much of that is insecurity versus genuine confidence in himself, and whether either would translate to overconfidence in the field. His pass at the westerner woman... was it as simple as it appeared to be, or was he testing her in some way?

The foreigner with the Germanic accent was clearly tough. Physically she was smaller than Saito himself, but both the way she didn't hesitate for a moment to directly confront Judge, and the way she moves so slowly and deliberately and yet holds herself as if her entire body was made of taut springs, both combined to set Saito's fangs on edge. There was a certain hardness to her eyes, too. She was the dangerous one here, and he must be watchful. And strike first and hard, if it came to that.

Her elf friend seemed more carefree, more spontaneous in her motions and choice of words. He was inclined to dismiss her as foolish, but the way she switched so quickly to guarded reluctance made him doubt that initial impression. The intensity and speed at which she switched from task to task came off as more "natural, gifted multitasker" more than "distractable and ditzy". Plus, there was something in her eyes, too. Possibly he's projecting himself onto her, but he could swear there's a similar kind of hunger in her eyes. She's not here solely because she thinks it sounds like fun, she's down on her luck as well. Not terribly desperate, perhaps, but getting there. That's bad news. Desperation is entirely understandable, even relatable, but it's a liability in a team mate.

He turns away from his inspection of his potential new allies to listen to Mr. Hei.

"This thing you ask is... not out of the question, but whether your offer is reasonable depends on how secured and how prominent a target this 'certain factory' is, among many other factors. The desire to be public and the need to inflict decisive, but not irreparable damage, that also complicates things. This 'show' your mistress desires, it is to accentuate her power? Instil fear? Humiliate a rival?"

He leans away imperceptibly, his voice and his posture making it seem as if the details of the job have made him extremely reluctant, but that he could be talked around.

Spoiler

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Rolls:
Etiquette (first impression) (12d6)[3][1][1][6][4][1][3][6][4][1][6][6](42)
Negotiation (12d6)[6][5][5][5][4][6][2][6][5][1][2][2](49)

Current SIN: Hachi Tsao
Current effects: Increase Charisma, Force 4
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 4/11
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Quan's Famous Noodles

His smile wavered only slightly, lingering in that half-smirk of his as Judge eased back into his chair as Mr. Hei rebuked. Mentally, the man scoffed at these so-called 'mistakes' he supposed committed with his choice of words. Clearly this ork knows little of casual sarcasm. Great. No humor among Johnsons, I guess, no matter the name~. Clearly, the human man lacked little in confidence, and why should he? Confidence is what Johnsons looked for, made the runner look more competent and desirable for their work. Letting his breath out with a smirk, he shook his head a couple of times as he processed it, opening his mouth to speak but pausing as the older ork began his rebuttal.

This gave Judge pause as he listened, settling back in his seat. He recognized that accent all too easily, his own grandfather having had the same. As the ork spoke, Judge mentally blew a low whistle of appreciation: this guy was full of tact, and he knew it. Respecting the employer whilst putting himself (and the rest of the group) into a more advantageous negotiating position with a few key sentences made the human subtly nod in appreciation of clearly superior talent. Well, I'll be damned, he speaks. Welcome to the group, Rōjin

Seeing that the ork had a better foothold than himself, Judge allowed himself to cool off, settling back and waiting on Hei's counter to this response, though he would admit his thoughts wandered to one of the weapons hidden in his suit. Tempting, but too soon to consider just yet, and as a plus he was certain at least the German woman would snap him in two for botching this job before it began. Just a hunch...

Spoiler: Status

Show

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:N/A

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana stares, impolitely, at the ancient ork, goggling at him. Du verdammter Arschficker. "Keep the questions about the client to yourself, alter," she snapped at the ancient ork. It wasn't that Jana cared about the client's privacy, but the client did, and she believed in providing the client the illusion that their privacy was safe. It was, in her experience, a simple precaution that kept clients from doing things like trying to kill her to protect their privacy. Experience also gave her the framework of several plans that could work (and had worked). Her favourite, which had the benefit of being easy and safe as well as having a good chance of working, was to release a contagion in the factory while tipping off local journalists. It didn't, however, have the benefit of being something she'd tried before. She had done something similar, but rather than release an actual contagion her team had faked one instead.

Spoiler: Status

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Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney took the opportunity to fall back from the conversation, not bothering to hide her shift to AR, her eyes dancing as she started rapidly extrapolating notes.

She wanted to immediately start working on her own plan, but restrained herself from doing so. There were too many variables, too many locations, and not enough data. However, the one thing that wasn't worrying to her was the precision damage required - it would be a function of money, of course. To meet Mr. Hei's requirements, what they had to do was keep a running tally of how much whatever they did to the plant would cost. As long as fixing it was cheaper than building a new plant, whatever corp owned it would opt to repair instead of demolish, and the plant would survive after being shut down for a while. That would solve the problem of doing too much damage, though she would have her homework cut out for her in figuring out what the magic price ceiling was - it would either be a collation and calculation based on a huge trawl of publicly available data, or a dive into a corporate DCC, and neither would be fun.

Doing toolittle damage was a different concern. That would be a function of time, which meant that there was at least one question they had to ask before leaving the table. The elf popped out of AR, having missed the previous exchange, but it had sounded like more of the same, so she spoke up anyway. "Sorry to be a bit more blunt, but just how long does the plant need to be shut down? A day? A week? Six months?"

Spoiler: Sidney Status

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Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: none
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative (Only in Hot-Sim): 4d6+10
Armor: Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
Sprites: None Compiled or Registered
Complex Forms: None Running
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: Opportunistic damage control.

[SlyJohnny]

Saito regards the blonde woman cooly as she snaps at him. Damn. Arguing amongst ourselves in front of the client weakens our bargaining position. Is this woman a fool? She is going to be a problem. he muses to himself.

Saito gently pushes his plate of noodles to one side, puts both his hands on the table, and links his fingers together. He doesn't respond for a few moments, trying to forestall an argument before it begins by not quickening the pace of the conversation, and also so he can consider his reply carefully. "Jagdhund. I admit, I do not speak enough German to know what the equivalent word to that is, in Mandarin. My name is Saito. Jagdhund, your concern for our client's privacy is laudable. It bespeaks a sense of professionalism. That, in turn, makes me look forward to working with you!"

He smiles warmly, then turns back to the other ork. "Perhaps I misspoke, Mr. Hei. I certainly have no wish to pry into our client's affairs. They are private. Let me rephrase the question. Your client wants 'a show'. What kind?"

He turns back to Jaghund, and leans forward a little, meeting her gaze. "If we know what kind of show... what the client wishes to achieve... we could be sure we put on the right kind of show, and so could earn the full bonus which is being offered to us. That is my interest."

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:52, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei's gaze is cold and level. "Yes, thank you for reminding Mr. Saito of the courtesies of this profession, Ms. Jana. While I applaud your desire to fulfill this task as well as can be done, there are certain protocols that must still be followed. Even though I suspect it will be mere formality, as you undoubtedly attempt to pierce whatever veil we erect to maintain our privacy."

He smooths out his suit and glances off to the left, clearly the look of a man consulting an ARO. "As to how long the factory must be off-line, we require no less than two weeks, but certainly not as long as six months. Obviously, this means we would not care to see the plant thoroughly destroyed. As for how, it would be most preferable if this could shutdown could appear to be the result of incompetence or poor management. If this is unobtainable, then making it clear to a exceptionally thorough investigation that this was the result of your actions. In no way should this seem to just be an unfortunate accident."

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Ah, the intricate weaving dance that is the battle of wits and tongues...yep. Definitely dealing with a corp-type. Glad to see we have people that know this dance too. This run may just prove to be fun yet.

Grinning, he flipped up on ARO..a notepad, to which he idly traced a few rough images as his head whirled with ideas about how to pull this off. A simple formatting of their database would work..nah, too clean, to quick to fix. Type of factory pending, maybe an explosion? Eh...could be too much damage, plus collatoral chance is way too high for his taste. Hmm...incompetence or poor management. Perhaps an infrastructure failure, pointing too incompetence..or if automated, reprogram the machines to make the wrong product...a competitor's product, even more costly. Ooh, the ideas, the ideas.

With all being said, though, there were far too many variables to be had before a conclusive plan could be made. Firstly, Judge took a glance around at his new teammates. Saito he definitely made to be some social engineer, as he looked too old to be a professional at much else. Jagdhund--that was German, right? he'd have to look it up--had all the makings of ex-military with her serious and stubborn attitude, so most probably gonna be muscle on the plan's execution. Zero-Day...that much interaction with ARO's denotes a Matrix expert, which made him pause. Odd...two technicals on one team? Very unusual... Mentally, he made a note to expect a meetup with just the four of them later...too many questions. Which reminded him, as he piped up, his voice smooth and calculating.

"You've given us the nature and expectations of this goal, that is for certain, but there is one detail missing, isn't there?" He leveled his silver-white gaze at Mr. Hei, his smirk lifting just a little bit more as he took a breath. "The name of this factory...what do you want shut down, hm?"

Spoiler: Status

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Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Bold statements are bold

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:52, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei cracks a slight smile and just perceptibly gives a nod. "Yes, I will agree, that is a critical component. However, such information could be rather disastrous in the wrong hands. I am afraid I must ask that you agree to undertake this task beforehand. I assure you that, while certainly not risk-free, this target is not one of the more secure locations even within its district. You will not even have to leave this city to complete this task."

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney looked around the table at the silent forms of her companions. Bystander effect, or are they just mulling it over?

She, personally, did not have a lot of choice. "I'm down," she quipped, as casually as she could, "but I'm not going to solo it."

[TheJudicator]

Judge

It was several moments before Judge spoke up, his trademark grin the only break to his otherwise stony expression. There was risk involved with this job, every instinct told him that. He was mulling over the nature of the work and weighing it against his impressions of his potential team. Would there be too much friction over personal opinions and matters. Or are they going to mesh like the consummate professionals runners were supposed to be?

So many variables, so many unknowns. Danger in that, naturally, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement about the challenge of it. And then he heard Zero agree. So it's happening, and if she WAS a hacker like him, he couldn't let himself be one-upped like that.

"Eh, what the hell. You shall not be alone then. I'm in, Hei. Tch, what's the worst that could happen, right?". Relaxing, he took another bite of his noodles, his foot tapping on the ground in eager anticipation.

Spoiler: OOC

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don't you love it when mobile devices don't submit your posts? Haha, apologies chummers! I'll try to be more on top of it in the future.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana, quite capable of geological patience, remained silent. She waited until the tipping point; that moment when half the prospective team had weighed in with a positive response to the job. "I'm in too."

Spoiler: Status

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Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:57, 1-6-75

Saito acquiesces with a solemn nod.

"Very good," says Mr. Hei. "The target is a plant in northeastern Kwun Tong, out in the manufacturing areas, owned by Tie Shan Manufacturing and Assembly. I'll provide you with the exact location, and a method to contact us once you job is complete, though we should be able to ascertain that occurrence for ourselves easily. The payment will be placed in whatever account you provide us. We expect to hear from you quite soon. Now, I believe our business is complete. Is there anything else?"

[TheJudicator]

Judge

>>>OBJECTIVE UPDATED
>>
>>PRIMARY MISSION
>>>Cause a significant, but temporary shutdown of the Tie Shan Manufacturing and Assembly plant in Northeast Kwun Tong
>>SECONDARY MISSION
>>>Make the cause of the shutdown a spectacle, pointed towards a failure of their upper management

Judge punched in his notes quickly into his AR display for later, leaving a space for a catchy title for the operation. Finishing off his plate of noodles, the man stood up around when Mr. Hei ended his spiel. "Nothing that the professional strictures of this meeting would require, I should think." He gave a small, wry wink to the rest of his team as he held out his hand, palm up, towards the ork. "I'll take the credentials and contact you when the job is done. Peace of soycake~"

While he spoke, the sunglasses were back out with a flip of his hand, returning to his face to give him that slick, almost overconfident look he enjoyed so much. He kept an eye on his teammates and the other on Mr. Hei, seeing who would leave first. If Hei did, then they had a perfect op to discuss the plan..or a meetup for the plan. Otherwise, a brief, insconspicous exit may be in order...

Spoiler: Status

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Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, Saito, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Bold statements are bold

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney's appetite dimmed a bit at the soy comment, and she was tempted to say something, but bit down on it -expressions featuring soy worked for most people; it wasn't her job to ruin it just because a piece of soycake, for her, was an ill-advised and unsatisfying acquisition that she would regret later.

On second thought, soycake might be the perfect metaphor for this job.

Nonetheless, she put on her cheery face again and took her time with the meal, but indicated through nonspecific, nonverbal pantomime and indelicate elven grunting that she had nothing further for Mr. Hei and now viewed her noodles as the most important thing at the table. These she attacked with a deliberate intensity as she sorted out her own notes on her next meal ticket.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana, once again, stared contemptuously at Judge. It was a reflex she already realized she'd need to curb; that and the urge to hurt him for whatever reason she was glaring at him for. Turning back to the client she shook her head to indicate that she required nothing more.

Spoiler: Status

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Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
28:00, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei fishes a small, black plastic stick out of his jacket pocket, and hands it to Judge. "Everything you'll need to get in contact with us and get paid is on there, along with the exact location of the factory. We look forward to seeing your work." With that, Mr. Hei slurps up the last remaining broth in his bowl, and shuffles out. As he leaves, it is evident that he has terrible posture, and that if he actually stood up straight he would be a very large man indeed.

If any of the group were to look into AR or VR, they would notice the appearance of a black pebble in their PANs, obviously the virtual representation of the info-stick.

[TheJudicator]

Judge

The man remained standing whilst Mr. Hei left, eyes locked upon the old ork's lumbering profile as he departed from the noodle shop. Flipping the datastick over in his hands, he gave a small chuckle and sat back down, tossing and catching the stick as he flipped open his AR to examine it, and possibly a glimpse of his teammates' personae icons if applicable. "Well...I'd say that went rather well, no?" He flicked off his sunglasses to make eye contact with them fully, easing back into his chair. He ran a scan on the stick as he held it up, checking it for malware...or worse, that insidious beasty known as a data bomb that could wreck anybody's link or deck if tripped, before opening it.

"But before we dig into this, I think some ice-breaking is in order, hm? I'd bring ice, but it gets kinda wet...will peanuts work?" He dug out a couple peanuts leftover from an earlier snack and set them on the table within easy reach. Glancing at each of them in turn--Saito, Zero, Jagdhund--he kept his smile as he spoke in a cool, even tone. "After this brief gives us some intel, it might be a good idea if we knew what each other can do. I think it's safe to confess that for the most part we do not know each other, hoi?" he gave a wink, before finally glancing towards Jagdhund. "Regardless, you have my chip word I'm in this job, no plans to screw anyone over. Where's the fun in that?"

Spoiler: Status

Show

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, Saito, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Matrix Perception to check for malware/data bombs on datastick, now dubbed "Black Pebble". 3 hits

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana looked at the table and suppressed an urge to slam her head into it as Judge spoke. The urge to reach into her bag and do something that'd require her to buy a new SIN and lay low for a few weeks was higher than ever. It seemed to her that he was calibrating his words to annoy her. What if he is? The thought emerged from her mind without prompting; the storehouse of duplicity held within finally pressing this evaluation through her annoyance. It is possible he is just this annoying, she reminded herself. But to discount it just because he appears stupid would be foolish, she finished.

Feeling oddly renewed by this potential, by the possible duplicity, and by possible intelligence behind it, Jana raised her head. "Just shut up," she replied with an exasperated tone. Grabbing her bag she stood, leaving her bowl, and its attendant cutlery, on the table for somebody else to deal with. "Either of you have somewhere we can use to talk in private?" If neither has such a place, we will have to procure one, Jana mentally mumbled to herself, planning ahead. In the meantime though, my apartment would have to do. It wasn't something she wanted to do, but if necessity demanded it she would open that door.

Spoiler: Status

Show

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

The man was momentarily taken aback by the rather brusk response to his quips and attempts to get communication going. True, he was intentionally being a jovial spirit--admittedly a rare thing in this day and age--, but he saw little hope in this business relationship (be it long or short) succeeding if they at least didn't start the communication ball rolling. Nontheless, he emotionally let the restrained hostility roll off of his back like water off a stone, letting his grin remain.

"As you wish, madam." He stood up after she did, making a shrug to readjust his suit coat about his shoulders. He mulled the question over in his head, weighing the options and risks, but settling on the best idea in his head. "I have a place that'll work. It's no landmark of luxury, but it's private enough. We can all meet up independently if that's your prerogative. Commcodes and I'll send the location~" He flipped out his commlink, a sleek Transys Avalon, punching a few buttons to accept and log in the codes to transmit the info to them upon receipt.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

"No," Jana replied. She was calmer now that Judge had quit playing the fool, less agitated, and more pleasant because of it. "We'll just head there together," she finished. Reaching into her pocket she pull out, and then pulled on her AR glove before waking her commlink to grab the address. "I'll get us a cab. My treat," she added.

Turning to Zero she looks at her expectantly. "Have you got a suggestion?"

Spoiler: Status

Show

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

"Don't buy stock in Tie Shan." Sidney said around last of her noodles. "Aye, um, I have a few ideas for the plant, but you don't want to know where I've been staying. I'll take the cab."

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana sighs. "Zero, we're not all going home, we're going somewhere else. To talk. Now that we're in a public space without precautions."

Spoiler: Status

Show

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

"Well, someone's home, at least.." he muttered as they got up to depart once everyone was finished with their meal. He smiled appreciatively at the German. "Appreciate the cab though. Public transit route's total drek to get to where we're headed." He punched in his address to transmit to Jagdhund...he can monitor for Matrix eavesdropping easy enough, it's the verbal kind to watch for. The number would pop up with a blip, a stylized Scales of Justice providing a cheesy background for the details. Any search or use of Gridguide points it to one of those towering residential apartment complexes in the outskirts of Kowloon City, a location befitting any corp wageslave or what have you. "Well, shall we?" He smiled broadly as they departed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2247 Bù'ān St, Apt 13-7
SE Kowloon City
Evening, 1-6-75

The cab ride was quiet and fairly uneventful, if not a bit snug. Judge did his utmost to remain respectful and to deliberately show no...forward intentions. Given the previous remarks on his quip to Zero, he was sure Jagdhund would have ejected him from the cab, stopped or not. Upon arrival, he took a deep breath and led the way into the complex. Given Kowloon City's relative higher-class style, this building was certainly among its lower end, a few lights flickering here and there, paint chipped occasionaly, and other signs of neglect dotting the place. Using the elevator, Judge hummed to himself as he punched in the 13th floor, the wires holding the metal box groaning momentarily before starting to move. Finally, they arrived, and he led them down the hallway to his door. Punching a quick number into the lock, a solid click was heard as the door opened.

Inside, it was clear that this bachelor was just that: alone. The single-bedroom apartment, though clean, was lacking in any frivolous decoration. With a flick of the lights, it would seem the only furniture he had was a couple tables, a couch next to a trid viewer, some chairs, and a desk. The kitchen was sparse, a few empty food containers stacked on the counter out of the way, but it was clear Judge didn't take to cooking all that much. Keeping his coat on, he stepped out of the doorway and allowed the others in. "Please, make yourselves at home. Kangei" Shutting the door behind them, he locked it as a precaution before rearranging some furniture, pulling a couple chairs around to the other side of the couch and offering they take a seat. "Drinks, anyone? Water, soycaf, tea?"

Spoiler: Status

Show

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, Saito. Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other: World-building go!

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Looking around disdainfully Jana almost decides not to ask the critical questions. "Got any beer?" Picking the least unclean thing she can see to sit on (regardless of whether it was meant to be sat on) she makes herself as comfortable as she expects to get. She drops her bag next to her, feeling a little foolish for dragging it around with her but comforted by her original reasoning. "I'd settle for anything with an alcohol content."

Spoiler: Status

Show

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Pausing for a moment, Judge let his grin falter a bit as she saw the German's look of disapproval. It wasn't the nicest place, that was for sure, but it actually was quite tidy, with merely smatterings of clutter here and there. The couch itself looked hardly used. Nodding, he stepped over to his fridge and pulled out a brown bottle with some cantonese cartoonishly printed on the label. Holding it in his left hand, he lined up the cap against the counter's corner, and flicked his right palm heel onto it, popping the cap off with an audible "thwunk" sound.

"Beer it is. Local stuff, but it's always available, hah~" passing it off to her, he went back to the kitchen for some water, glancing back to the elf. "Zero, nothing for you?" He glanced over at Jagdhund's bag, surmising that it was likely an equipment bag...and given her militaristic attitude, he could only imagine what it contained. Sighing, he shrugged off his suit jacket and loosened his tie, revealing the holster wrapped around his shoulders, the sleek grip of an Ares under his left arm. "So I dunno about you, ladies, but this job seems a little off..too simple, too easy for us to trace motives to pick out our Ms. Wu..."