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(Setting) The Lock & Barrel
| >A woman picks up the phone, tightening her tie as she does so.
"Lock and Barrel, Verana speaking. How may I help you?"
| > "Hello! I was calling about the open mic on thursdays? Is that still a thing...? I...realize I'm considerably early."
| >The woman smiles.
"Of course! We just opened back up so we haven't had time to set up any venues, so I'm glad you called..."
>She gets out a pen and paper.
"Would you like to sign up?"
| > "Yes! I'd love to! I was just curious about the time and if you have any agreement stuff for regular performers."
| >>113964
"Open mic night usually starts around 1900, give or take a few minutes. Normally it's first come, first serve, but since we'll need to put up some adverts for new performers anyway, why don't I just sign you on for the next month or so?"
| >>113984
> "Sure...But if you're signing me on, don't you want to hear me perform first? Maybe I'm misunderstanding?"
| >>113986
"Well, let me put it this way... is anything you're going to be playing likely to star a bar fight, a riot, or both?"
| >A woman in rather lavish and regal clothing skips into the bar followed by a very stoic looking lilum, the lilum easily keeps up with her despite him only walking.
| >The tender waves over the newcomer.
"Hold on a moment," >She places her hand on the receiver.
"Welcome to the Lock and Barrel! How may I serve you?"
| >The lilum scans the room as the crimson-dressed woman skips over to the bartender
"Get me something youll think I like."
>She says it overly friendly
"I dont think he will have anything though, oh and do you also serve food, or just drinks?"
>As she finishes the lilum seems to have decided on a table in the corner, positioning the chair so he can see all the other seats
| >The tender shrugs.
"Best I can cook is nuking a tamale in the microwave- you'll have to wait a bit until our *actual* cook arrives. In the meantime, how about a Cosmopolitan?"
| "Sure, that sounds good."
>The lilum is staring at the bartender
| >>114929
>Moments later, a cocktail glass with a cool light blue drink that seems to glow in the dim lighting of the bar glides into your hand. It's been decorated with a lemon twist.
"Enjoy."
| "Yay!"
>She sucks down half the drink in a second
"Ahhhh, I dont think ive had anything to drink in a few days."
| >She sips the drink and starts counting down from three with her hands, as soon as she reaches zero the lilum stops staring and looks around the room again, she winks without even checking that she is right
| > 'Um...Hello? Are you still there...? Hello?'
| >>115082
"I'm still here, sorry about that honey," >Verana says, turning back to the phone.
"Had some customers come in. So, what do you think? Will we see you tomorrow?"
| > 'Eheh...Yeaaah. I"m sort of already turning in toward the building now. I got really excited and decided to come see the stage. Is that okay?'
| > After a moment's pass...A petite woman with long teal, layered, locks peaked inside. She seemed almost a little timid at first. At her side was an electric guitar, one of the telsa atmospheric types that powered themselves while being played. She wore a large white hoodie that was so big it practically over took her entire top half. Although it was a zip up hoodie she wore it like a 'dress'. Though certainly she wore a t-shirt and jean shorts under it.
| > This teal headed petite woman turned to look toward the tender and smiled. She hung up her phone by closing it shut. An old flip phone apparently.
"...Hiya!"
| >Noticing the tender was again tending to her customer. She quietly ducked her head down and wandered over to the bar, mildly glancing at the rather intimidating gentleman in the middle of the room.
| >The lilum is now staring at the person who walked in as the woman takes a deeper sip of her drink
| >>115730
>The tender waves over at you!
"Well, aren't you adorable..." >She says, not unkindly,
"Welcome to the Lock and Barrel! Make yourself at home- the stage is right over there." >She points to a corner of the room- it's a slightly raised platform, probably a foot at most, with a number of wall outlets and dusty, but still usable, stage speakers and lighting equipment. There's a mic stand here as well.
| >>116117
> The teal girl blushed immediately in her surprise and laughed awkwardly.
"A-adorable?"
>She echoed that and turned her attention to the stage. Immediately interested, she beelines to it while drawing her guitar from its back. On her way up she thumbed at it's strings until the Telsa generator at its end glowed blue. It was alive! Yet she didn't immediately start playing music. Instead she climbed up the platform and stood on it and investigated.
| "Thanks! Wooow~! This one is a lot more welcoming and warm looking than the other ones I've been to!"
| >>116124
>Verana smiles, somewhat embarassed.
"Well thanks... what other places have you visited..."
| "A number of dives...The Loaded Chamber, Russo's Palace, Edge Town, and Silvana...To name a few. Silvana was nice, Russo's wasn't bad. The others...I can remember a few times I thought I was going to die at the others."
> She offered sheepishly.
"By the way! My name's Eidin!"
| "Verana, bartender... nice to meet you," >The tender says, wiping a glass.
| "I know~. You said so on the phone."
> Eidin replies brightly while strumming something that sounds like Hotel Neo California, just with some added chords for flare. The sounds weave through the air with great timing.
"What kind of music is usually played here?"
| "All kinds- mostly pop and acapella though," >Verana says, wiping her glass.
"We used to have a regular singer, but he's been missing in action for a few... months."
| "Guess I'll take his place until he comes back...If he ever does." > Eidin offered thoughtfully.
"I like Chill. It calms people down. If this city could use anything...It's that I think~."
| >Verana smirks.
"You don't say..."
| > Eidin eventually settles into a lounge-like tune. Her fingerpicking seems to echo about the room and alters the atmosphere into exactly the way she feels about the bar so far. At least that was her intent...to make it feel warm and inviting, yet still maintain the proper atmosphere of a place for adults.
"Hm hm hm...Hmmmm."
> Eidin hums along with the song as if priming her voice to sing. She harmonizes instead of saying any words. Her vocals dance with the string vibrations.
| "You think maybe the other musicians will want to meet? Maybe we can do a thing?"
| >>116265
"Perhaps. Last I heard there was at least two people who were trying to form a band- posted about it on social media."
| >The woman gives a thumbs up to the stage as she finishes off her drink, the lilum narrows his eyes
| "Oh? Where did they post? /u/? Hehe...I announced my willingness to become an idol buuuut...that didn't go over so well. Apparently I'd only make it as a prostitute~."
>She joked before strumming a 'whah whah whah'. Then she returned to playing the atmospheric chords she had before.
"Jokes on them, though. The prostitution out here is amazingly intense I doubt with that market many folks can even get in anymore. Not that I've tried...and even want to."
| "I've heard enough stories to where I'm pretty confident that I'd rather just play music."
| "Can I get something fun, uhhh, we should problably share names so I dont keep calling you bartender."
>she laughs a bit
| >A masked, suited man walks in with a duffel bag over his shoulder. he is wearing blue gloves for some reason? He sits down at the Bar.
"Hello. You got something strong?"
| >>118756
>Amélie looks over at the masked man while the lilum once again stares at the new person
"You seem rather interesting, if you dont mind me asking, what do you do?"
>She says knowingly
| >The masked man turns to Amelie, but ever so slightly more to see the lilim stare at him.
"I am a plummer, a lot of wet-work these days."
>The masked man tries to flag down the bartender.
| >>118856
"Well, my shower in my apartment just wont function, I'm really desperate to get it working again so ill pay plenty for it."
| "I'll get one my colleges to go check it out."
>The man's cover begins to wobble a little. He settles the duffel bag between his feet.
"Uh Bartender?"
| >a woman walks into the bar she is in all black power suit with a gold colored bird with full spread wings on the right breast side
>they have a badge on one shoulder and on one of their arms is a small one eyed dragon like machine thing that quickly scans the area.
>the woman looks to be Chinese. her hair black and short and has brown eyes.
>she walks up to the bar and slowly looks at any displaying alchohol.
| >The lilum transfers his gaze to the next person to enter
| >the robotic one eyed dragon looks back at the lilim it cocks its head and then moves to the woman's ear. She looks at the lilim out of the corner of her eye, she flips a switch on her belt
| >the woman speaks up finally.
"Bartender. I need you sales liscense, proof of ownership, if you're with BTC I need you number. Also SIN or ID."
>they turn to the lilim. The dragon begins to look over displayed alcohols"
| >Amélie coughs and pulls a medical mask from a fold in her lose hanging clothes, putting it on
| >The masked man re adjusts his mask, and lowers his head.
| >the woman looks the lilim up and down
"Bartender. She for security? I'll need her frame type, number, and modification codes if so."
| > Eidin casually plays A. Rene in a trip-hop sort of style. She does glance over cautiously at the oriental looking woman with the badge.
| >>119307
as you glance you see the the mechanical dragon look back at you, the one eye light on its head dimly glowing. It goes back to scanning the alcohols
>as you look at the badge you see "Black Phoenix 3" on top and "Hired Forces" on the bottom with a GC in the middle.
| >The masked man turns to the player on the stage, and walks over, sitting down nearby.
"Can you do a song request?"
| "Can you do Stuck In The Middle With You? Reminds me of the good days."
>The masked man replies.
| "Oho~. Good choice!"
>Eidin replied warmly before she began strumming and firmly tapping her foot to provide some beat to the song, even going so far as to hit the body of the guitar to add some 'omphf' to it. She harmonized to get her pitches right and a little into the song she started to sing. Her vocals brought on a playful and amused air to the lyrics that enhanced the nostalgic atmophere it might bring. Just like remembering something hilarious with a friend.
| > "Well I don't know why I came here tonight~."
> "I got a feelin' somethin' ain't right~..."
> The song continues~.
| >The Masked man just taps to the beat of the song, smiling under his mask.
| >"Clowns to the left of me~, jokers to the right~!"
>"Here I am! Stuck in the middle with you~."
>>119495
>Eidin does notice the dragon looking back at her and quickly averts her eyes. She smiles at the man with the mask as she continues playing the song. Though in the back of her mind she can't help but recall reading something on /u/ recently...
> "Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you~."
| >The Masked man starts to open his duffel bag, digging for something...
| >Eidin's playing continues without pause, the lyrics flow from her lips until she reaches a point where she could play a solo. Her fingers dance across the chords and she only momentarily slips her gaze from outer-space toward the Masked man and his duffel bag. She harmonized with the solo before continuing normally into the song.
> "Well, you started off with nothing.."
> "And you're proud that you're a self-made man~."
> She continues~.
| >Then Masked Man pulls out a audio recorder. Sets it on the table, and clicks record.
"I got to safe this for a rainy day, if you mind."
| > Eidin shrugged lightly and smiled in the middle of the song. She then worked the song into a decent loop and started from the top so that he'd at least have the whole song. If he was going to do that, she wanted him to have the whole song.
> In fact she'd play it with a little more heart then!
| >The Masked Man finally finished recording the song, happy to add another classic to his collection.
"Hey bartender? You guys got a piano? I feel like I owe Guitar Gal here a song."
| "Mmm? You play also?"
> Eidin tilted her head curiously and smiled.
"You know really old songs, I shouldn't be surprised...but still! You're a piano player?"
| "My name is Eidin, by the way~. Nice to meet you! What do I call you?"
|
| >The woman looks around the bar
"The bartender was here right? Seems they disappeared."
>the woman brings her wrist to her mouth and begins talking
"Unresponsive, didn't see before coming in. Expecting search"
| "my name is Mr. Blonde. I can play piano, but only a few songs that I remember. Nothing special."
>Mr. Blonde nods back at Eidin.
| >the woman stands up, she flips another switch on her belt and makes her way behind the bar and goes looking for the bartender
| > Smiling she hoists up her guitar a little and looks toward the back of the stage.
"When I walked by I noticed a few instruments in the dark...I don't know if you'll find a keyboard in there or not."
>Her gaze slip to the woman wandering behind the bar.
"...The more she hangs around the less safe she seems."
>She mumbled low.
| (Charechter's Name is supposed to be Mr. Brown, not Blonde.)
"I guess I will take a peak. But that lady behind us? Getting bad vibes from her."
>Mr. Brown makes his way to the back of the stage, keeping his duffel bag close, Looking for a piano to play.
| >The lavishly dressed woman looks around before getting up and walking over to Mr. Brown
"Ill just leave you with this."
>She places a note with an address near him
"Ill see an associate soon alright?"
| "I guess you will. Now where was that piano..."
>Mr. Brown finds a piano, and settles in, he looks over to Eidin
"Ever heard of Jimmy Webb?"
>He begins playing.
| >The woman waves to the lilum she came in with and they both leave the bar
| >Mr. Brown starts playing, aebit stiffly, missing some notes. He stops, orientates himself, and tries again, now with more fluidity. He plays a small intro to the song before singing.
"By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising.."
"She'll find the note I left hanging on her door~"
| >>121559 >>121578
> Eidin wanders over to listen to him play with her guitar at her side. She smiles while listening to him warm up...He looked like a real musician. She couldn't help the giggle at the fact.
"...Mm..I'm not familiar with Jimmy Webb." > She admitted sheepishly...But then she listened to get a feel for the song. After a while...when she felt like she got an idea for how it'd go. She started chiming in with her guitar, if he allowed it. She followed and improvised.
| >the woman in black makes their way to a backdoor and head further into the back
|
| >>118978
>Verana passes over the required documentation without complaint- you notice that the bar is not associated with the BTC, however.
>>119010
"She's not with us- just a customer, officer."
| >>122346
"Ah, there we are. Nothing amiss either."
>the dragon scans over the documents.
"Alright. Thank you for your time. I'll have to make sure that lilim is legal then."
>they hand back the documents and flip one of the switches back off and make their way to the lilim.
"I have a few questions. Going to need a name id and model number for you. And any customizations."
|
| >A tall, young man arrives inside, looking quite exhausted. He takes a seat at the bar and forms a half-hearted smile
"Hello Verana, glad to finally see you in the bar after all this time. Can I have a Sugar Rush please."
| >Mr. Brown slows, then stops his song.
"That was a nice play. But I think it's time for me to go."
| >>123351
>Eidin smiled and ended the song much softer...continuing where he left off and ending it with a reprisal of the chorus.
"It was nice~. Will you play with me again? You're a great piano player."
| "Ah, it was luck that we met, My schedule is to crazy. It's this damn plumbing job. Otherwise I'd play to high hell."
>Mr. Brown takes his duffel bag, and goes for the door, not wanting to leave.
| >>123373
> She laughed at that.
"Maybe I'll have you fix my sink or something, then. Still you're welcome to join me on any stage I'm on, okay?"
| "Will do. And do call us about that sink if you got a problem, it's Batham Plumbing, ask for Brown.
>Mr. Brown reaches the door, and heads out.
| >>123329
>A Sugar Rush makes its way into your hands. The bartender sighs as she smiles.
"Working hard as ever, I see."
| >Eidin slipped off the stage and went to sit at the bar also.
"...Can I have a virgin Sunshine Cloud? That's a thing, right?"
| >>123547
"Thanks. Glad to finally meet in person. It's been a few months but I'm glad I got around to getting that drink I promised you."
| >>123552
>Verana smiles as she creates something close, minus the alcohol.
"It is now. Your singing is great, by the way."
| >>123578
"Oh? I see my reputation precedes me... Or did you get that from Charlie?" >She winks, sliding a card toward you under your drink.
| >>124028
"Well what's the fun in revealing the answer right away? Well given my profession I'm sure you know the answer."
>He takes a sip as he sneaks a peek at the card
| >A man enters the bar looking scraggly
"Private room?"
>Thats all he asks...
| >>124026
"Thanks so much. Haha I really needed that. My pleasure to sing here, Miss Verana.
Think I can have some consistent gigs here?"
| >the woman in black receives a call on their radio.
|| "*Serial killer loose, animal mask, KOS authorized, armed with metal object. Suspected murder of 20 individuals.*"
||"Understood. Relay to Phoenix 3."
>she gets up and heads out the door, losing any interest in the lilim
| "shit...that was slow..."
>The man mutters to himself so no one could hear
| >>124039
>Verana nods to the back of the bar, where there are strange booths that come complete with lockable doors.
"Enough ECM's built into the foundation to prevent a hyper-pulse transmission... back when those were still a thing."
>>124101
>Verana smiles.
"As long as you pay your tab, the floor's yours, honey."
| >>124264
>CN pockets the card
>>124270
>He then turns around to see the source of the voice
"Graham?"
| >>124645n
"Yes... Jesus in the room now..."
>He says pushing CN into the room.
| "I'll... be back in a moment Verana."
>He quickly grabs his drink before being dragged off into the room.
"Okay, okay. What's the big hurry?"
| "Okay so you know all those killings I have to do? Like the phonecall ones? Well the knights, these phoenix guys and the GCPD are on my ass! I've probably got a bounty on my head now and apparently they have a kill on site thing going on... What should I do?"
>He says this while looking like he has it together but in reality he is falling apart.
| "Well if they're hunting a masked killer just... stop killing with the mask. In fact stop listening to those phone calls period and go to the shrink with Aethia already man, you need help."
| >>124266
"Easy enough~. I didn't plan to leave a tab anyway."
>Eidin replied with an amused smile. She then leaned over with a debit card for electronic pay.
"Do you have any songs you like, Miss Verana?"
| >>124675
"They still got DNA testing and shit! Man I dunno what I should do...Maybe I should leave the city?"
>He starts pacing back and forth muttering nonsense.
| >>124781
"Look, they can't match it unless you had a prior record. You need to calm down, as far as they know they have no real evidence linking to you."
| "That you know of!'
>He stops...
"If it all goes to hell and they attack me atleast i'll go out in a blaze of glory..."
>He takes his knife out and starts flipping it around.
"Do you know anyone who could take my side in this...? I need allies."
| >>124824
"Dude don't so that... Look honestly I doubt anyone will just help a serial killer. Best advice I can give is go to therapy, we some of that you have some clot to plead insanity if they *happen* to catch you. That's the best I got here."
| "Therapy, therapy..."
>He mutters clicking his tongue
"Shit I gotta call Weiss about that..."
>He mutters.
"Anyway I gotta find the guys behind the calls and get rid of em."
| >>124860
"Go to therapy first, set up your insurance net first, otherwise you'll be in trouble if anything goes tits up at any point. I'm serious Graham. Go to therapy first."
| "Ugh fine... I'll see when I go..."
>He sighs.
"I'll message Weiss now if you want..."
| >>124898
"Well whether you believe me or not I suppose it doesn't matter."
>He stands up to leave the room
"So you good for now?"
| "I think..."
>He presses his finger to his lips muttering somthing to himself as he exits.
| "See ya Graham."
>He waves him off as he returns to the bar and faces Verana
"So I have a question. I heard bartenders are the knowledgeable sort, so would you know someone I could talk to involving some info on some missing people perhaps?"
| >>124733
"Mm... mostly a jazz person myself, but can you do a rendition of Moonlight Serenade?" (https://youtu.be/kTKL15YUyKk)
| >>124914
"You heard well. And I *may* happen to know someone who knows *someone* along those lines... in return for equivalent information." >Verana says smoothly.
| >>125142
"Well I think that can be arranged pretty easily. I'm open to most info regardless. Misinformation is such a... nuisance lately so I want to do my part of spreading the right kind."
| >>125178
"Man after my own heart," >Verana says, winking. She nods toward one of the ECM-protected back rooms.
| >>126189
>Verana locks the door behind her, but as soon as you step in, the effect is immediate- you feel like you are the most alone you have been in years, perhaps even more so than in your safehouse; even any specialized electronics you may or may not have for communication seem to have gone dark within this room.
| "Nifty, isn't it? If you haven't noticed, the bar is off grid, too- no Matrix connections of any kind. The owner was very specific about that... not that I mind." >She smiles.
"So. Who are you trying to find?"
| "Well in this society that definitely has its perks."
>CN sits down as he takes another sip as his drink before starting.
"I'm looking for two people in fact. The first is an Augmented Eye reporter. Goes by the pen name Glory B., she was last seen in Neko Park working on a piece last I heard but that was weeks ago."
| "Mmm... she hasn't left. We believe that she's making good on her word in regard to her last article- that she was investigating the refugees, or rather, the ones that came from the Protectorate, specifically. She hasn't left, as far as we're aware... and as far as we're aware, she isn't dead, either. The refugees have been keeping to themselves and haven't left in any considerable manner, much less to dump bodies."
| "Hmm... okay. That puts me at ease a little then. I'll check there then next. Alright the second one I have a lot less info on. He goes by The Finger, and he was a member of the Bleeding Fists a few months ago. He had a few roles in their team, decker and rigger I think."
| "..." >Verana frowns, then raises their hand to their chin, thinking.
| "...I want to say he's alive, but..."
"...Honestly, a lot of what I've been hearing has more in line with ghost stories than anything else. There's no record of any obituaries, or bodies discovered matching his profile, We know that much. In fact, after the... admittedly very publicized massacre of the Bleeding Fists, they didn't find *all* of the bodies."
| "They only found about two. The decker, Reeve, and the samurai, Dina. Aside from some wrecked drones, gun casings, and scorched weapons and other debris, there was no sign of the others. There was some blood outside of the building, but beyond that..." >She shrugs.
| "Well honestly I have reason to think he's alive. Remember the whole shack incident awhile back with that guy selling all kinds of paydata? Apparently the guy selling them was told to do it by someone in the Matrix by the same codename. There wasn't any paydata or anything, it seemed like an attempt to just bait us all in the same place."
| "Yes, I do recall something like that..." >Verana says, thinking.
"I can't think of much of a motive behind it, however. Except maybe revenge, but unless you actually WERE responsible for the team's demise-" >She gives you "the look,"
"... he likely wouldn't attempt such a thing."
| "W-We weren't it was VeriaTech..."
>CN tries to clear his throat by taking another sip of his Sugar Rush
"Besides I don't think was revenge, if it was he wouldn't had invited groups that I'm allied with like Club Flush. It just seems counterintuitive if he wanted to see me dead."
| "That it does... but then, who's to say that *you* were the target?" >Verana says.
| "That is... a good point. But the question would be who?"
>CN remains quiet as he thinks to himself
"Well the two groups with the closest ties would be VT and Club Flush, but that doesn't really eliminate any of the other groups of interest. Even then I doubt he did it for a small security detail owned by VT and he would need to predict who in Club Flush they would send."
| "Hm... and if I recall, wasn't Club Flush kind of chummy with The Bleeding Fists?"
| "They were. Both groups had literal family between the other, which is why I just can't fathom a motive from this. *Sigh* I guess I'll just have to do some more digging..."
| "Mhmm..."
| "Is that all?"
| "Yes that's it for now.... actually, this might be a little old but back in the missing persons reports after the summit, there was a family that had the last name Greene in them, do you know anything about them by chance?"
| "Hm... Can't say that I do. There were plenty of missing people from that event, most of them shadowrunners. And Greene is kind of a generic name, to be honest."
| "Yea that's what I was afraid of..." *He shrugs* "Okay then, yea I'm good for now. Thanks for the help."
| "No problem. Now... have anything for me?"
| >Verana responds.
| "Anything specific you're curious about?"
| >>126416
"How about the new blood in town? You seem pretty friendly with that new megacorp... White Lightning Fiber?" >Verana says, grinning.
| >>126416
"How about the new blood in town? You seem pretty friendly with that new megacorp... White Lightning Fiber?" >Verana says, grinning.
| >>126423
"Well I haven't gotten a chance to dig in the nitty gritty of their Corp underpinning like some of the other corps in town, but from what I've seen they seem legitimate. No secret projects or anything I could find, as of yet, and their CEO genuinely cared about the safe zone effort. I'm worried how well she'll be able to push back against the other corps though, she doesn't seem to have grown the thick skin yet that's necessary to make it in the city, I feel."
| "Mmm... two red flags already, I see..." >She says.
| "Red flags?"
| "First, that she doesn't have a thick skin about that mess in the Safezone. I'm not going to preach to the choir- you know what the attrition's like living in a place like this...although I wouldn't trade a world for it," >Verana says, moving hair out of her eyes.
"The other, is being 'legitimate.' There's no such thing, CN. You should know better than that. And the more a company does to hide their dirty laundry, the more of it there likely is."
| "Hey I just said they 'seemed' legitimate, I've learned enough Corp secrets in the past year to know that things are never that they seem at first look. I'm just holding my reservations until I dig more. Honestly I'm more worried that she just might snap under the pressure like that Anomeat guy, and the last thing we need is Anomeat level of crazy with the income of a Corp to back it."
| "Wouldn't be the first time..." >Verana muses.
"I wouldn't put it past someone to try and do just that. How was she taking the... ahem, 'failure' of the project?"
| "Hmm... distraught would be the best word I think? I offered to help her get CrayCo. away from the area but she was too broken up about the deaths to even accept my help when I offered. She seems to have calmed down since then but we haven't spoken since so I can't say for certain."
| "Hmm... interesting..." >Verana presses a button just behind her ear.
"Just recording, don't mind me. Or do mind me- probably safer that way," >She says, grinning.
"We heard that you may have had contact with certain Vita-Life representatives- anything interesting to share?"
| "Well they're certainly hiding something, it's just hard to say what. They seem to be keeping some sort of organic experiment hidden, what exactly I can't say, they have been very secretive so far, I can speculate that they're here under some sort of cleanup operation or something aside from the whole VT thing, but I don't really have any evidence to back that up or not."
| "Hmm... very well..." >She leans back and stretches.
"That's about it for me. Always a pleasure, CN."
| "No prob bob."
>He finishes the rest of his Sugar Rush and stands up
"Hmm... can I ask *one* last thing? As an outside observer what do you think of the Dynamofucks? Given everything you probably heard about us and your neutrality, what would you say your personal opinion of us is?"
| "Hm... really asking the difficult questions, I see..." >Verana thinks for a moment, making a show of spending a difficult time.
"Cute," >She says, finally.
| "C-Cute...?"
>He can't help but seem a little flustered at the response
| >She winks.
"Cute. I don't think I've ever heard of, or seen, a more dysfunctional group of runners in this business. And I've seen some serious drek. Honestly, every now and then I even get other runners, law enforcement, and corporate bigwigs in here that ask about you. Want to know what their number one comment is when you're brought up?"
| "Uh... is it something along the lines of how have they made it this far?"
| "YEP! How'd ya guess?" >She says, chuckling.
"Some of them have bets. A few have talked about challenging you lot to a run... with all that entails. Every now and then, a freshly minted razorboy or razorgirl walks in, talking about how they're going to "geek the DynamoFucks" and "show them what it means to have *real* chrome..." ironically, those are usually the same kids who never come back. For a variety of reasons."
| "Well I guess that's not the *worst* possible opinion to have... although I am worried we're attracting 'challengers'. *Sigh* Well it's better than our old image so I guess I can't complain too much. Glad you're enjoying the show."
>He chuckles in return
| "Sure, actually I think I'll get a refill, I'm waiting to meet up with someone. I'm ever the busybody."
| > A man in a black helmet that reflected his surroundings and hid his features behind a haze of darkness entered. Clothed in the usual black, over large hoodie, and this time accompanied with a brown leather jacket with a completely unbuttoned high collar bent backward by the weight of his unwarn hoodie. He took long, slow, and tired strides with his, this time, dark grey baggy jeans, and pitch black combat boots.
"*Fsssht* Oh good. You're stil here."
| >CN turns to face the newcomer
"Hey, come on lets talk in the back."
>CN picks up his drink and heads to one of the private rooms.
| > He followed only glancing at Verana through his helmet, not that this was something anyone could see. There was no need to say anything just yet. He'd allow CN to start the conversation. Considering it was him whom held the most information. He imagined there were terms or something to begin all of this.
| >>127505
>Verana watched as the black clad figure followed CN to one of the private rooms that she and he had just left. As they disappeared inside, she pushed a button behind her, and spoke wordlessly to someone who wasn't there.
| >>127505
>CN takes a seat at the far end of the room
"So I'm sure you have plenty of questions, what would you want to know first?"
| >If Neon has any specialized communications equipment, they notice that said equipment has suddenly gone silent within the room. Nothing seems to be able to get in or out.
| >>127516
"*Fsssht* I take it our friend who wanted to 'help' us hasn't spoken to you since. I understand why I didn't trust him. Why didn't you?"
| >>127520
"No, he only speaks through the boards anyways, so you would know. And honestly it's because of how he acts. We both want to take down VT but the way he goes about it is very... manipulative. He doesn't care how something gets done as long as it does get done. So our dealings are very situational at best."
| >>127527
"*Fsssht* I see. That explains it. Well, CN. Are there any agreements that need to be made before we begin? Any expectations between the two of us that should be had? After all...You don't know me and neither I you. We should do this from the start."
| >>127542
"Hmm... I mean I guess other than the other obvious secrecy about this how about trading info for info? If you manage to savage any data from the incident it might help save Lisa still."
| "*Fsssht* Okay. Then what do we know about Cyberdynamics?"
>Neon questioned while leaning back against a wall and crossing his arms. He imagined that was a decent start.
| "Cyberdynamics... I'm surprised you know that name, I guess quite of bit of data was salvaged then..."
>CN takes a sip before continuing
"Cyberdynamics, or Cyberdyne as it was renamed when it was relocated to Glitch City, is a Corp specializing in pretty much anything technological. Mostly drones and mechs, but to a smaller extent, augs as well. You could say they're the ying to VT's yang. One is all chrome, while the other is all organic based."
| "They used to be one of the more powerful corps in the area until they started fighting VT in a Corp war, publicly this fighting continued for awhile but in actuality ended around the time when the summit accorded, which coincided with the disappearance of many higher ups from CyberDyne going missing. VT kept the 'war' going publicly while taking some of their stolen technology from them, and associating my team with them as a plus to drag our name in the mud."
| "*Fssht* I see...So then, would it be proper to assume that Lisa and Legion both originate from this corporation's research? I suppose it is my turn to offer information. Since the rest of you decided to leave without cleaning up after yourselves, I've collected all of the residual, fragmented data from our encounter. Along with some research I've been doing prior I intend to use that data and whatever you feel comfortable with giving me to get to the bottom of things."
| "Well... yes and no. While I do believe that all the technological based weaponry was stolen by VT from CD, Engy and I believe they were modified afterwards due to one reason... CD comes from a space colony named Vetra, and AI research is generally considered taboo there, like to the point that even corps wouldn't their break it since the stigma has permeated their society so deeply, so while they might not work as originally intended, the idea is still there... what did you find?"
| "*Fsssht* Indeed I did find that CD came from Vetra. So far our cross-referencing is going well."
> Neon pushed himself off of the wall and got close to CN. He checked the room for windows first before he did anything.
"That picture that was posted on the forums a while ago..That same person was listed as a Jane Doe found murdered elsewhere. Though despite that I find she makes a lot of appearances in the data collected from Lisa's data dump. There's more, but let's take our time."
| "Well just cause someone is listed as dead doesn't necessarily mean they are. What else did you find in the data?"
| >a figure enters the bar. all the features are covered by a black cloak. the only thing significant about them is there height. They seem to be only 5'3. They take a seat at the bar "A gut punch, please"
| >The figure takes it and sips
"Thanks"
|
|
| >A security camera quietly focuses on the figure, then suddenly resumes it's standard programmed movements.
| >The figure subconciously tugs his already oversized hood down while taking another sip of his drink.
| >A figure enters the bar. His face and arms covered in bandages. Around his necis a scarf, covering something metallic. It reveals to be a man, once he sits down at the bar, he flags the bartender.
| >The hooded figure glances at the newcomer before taking another sip of his drink.
| >The Bandaged man takes a good look at the hooded figure, and returns to getting the bartender's attention.
"One Bad Touch please."
| >The Bandaged Man smiles, takes a sip, and asks.
"So are Neon and CN still here?"
>He says, pointing to the "Data Services" thread.
| >>129195
>Verana shrugs.
"That would be for you to find out. But they're quite busy at the moment."
| "I guess I better wait for them. My name is AnoMeat by the way."
>AM reveals his identity.
| >AM leans back.
"I guess I am not welcome here, should I leave?"
| >>129217
>Verana goes back to wiping a glass.
"Basic bar etiquette; leave your guns in the holster, and we won't have a problem." >She says, perhaps a little too delightfully.
| >AM leans back on to the bar, and puts a hand to his face.
"I am not carrying one."
>He shows that he does not have his holster on him.
| >The hooded figure remained silent, occasionally glancing at the two
| >AM turns his head a little, speaking to the hooded figure.
"You looking for Tuna? You look as tall as her."
| >The security camera is fixated at the ceiling. It is ever so slightly clicking up and down, as if trying to pan back to the bar floor but being blocked from doing so. The hooded figure glances up at it, noting its current status, then takes another sip of his drink. There will be no more surveillance, not while he's here. Everyone else is none the wiser.
| >The figure chuckled abit
"I stick out pretty bad don't I? I'm not exactly looking for her at the moment though. Honestly, I just needed a drink to clear my head. That girl was always better at blending in than me."
| "The names Peter by the way"
| "Nice to meet you. I guess you already know people are looking for you?"
>AM now has his head facing towards Peter.
| "Seen it coming is more like it"
>Peter sipped his drink once again
| "Interesting. I'm in no place to dig deeper, but you should go visit your friend when you get the time."
>AM takes a big gulp of his drink, finishing it.
"Bartender, Something to sober me up please."
| "If I find her I will. She tends to force her way into other people's messes so she'll turn up sooner or later."
>Peter sighed
| "She did force her way in to my mess. So say thanks to her when you get the chance, I never did."
>AM Looks down as he says that.
| >Peter chuckled alittle
"She isn't a good Samaritan by no means but once she takes a liking to you... well your stuck with her. I don't think she even expects a thank you from you. Take it as a compliment. She doesn't warm up to too many people. Then again not many people ever bothered to try"
>Peter shrugged
| "Out of all the people she could have warmed up to, She choose me. What a waste."
>AM keeps looking down.
| "Look. She obviously saw something in you. I have heard all the rumors and what not about you. If your really as bad as they all say then that girl would have killed you by now. So don't be so hard on yourself. We can only move forward never backwards. You can only change your future. Instead of wallowing in your mistakes why not use that to forge a better future?"
| "Maybe. But some days, You just don't want to move forward. It's been that day for the last week. I guess there may be truth to what you say."
>AM Raises his head a little, feeling better.
| "I feel like I did back when Tuna just showed up. I have had many conversations like this with her"
>Peter laughed alittle
"Just think about where you want your future to go and work towards it. If something is bothering you bad enough find someone to get advice from who you trust. though these days it feels like there are less and less of those kind in the world"
>Peter sips his drink
| "True. Shame there is no one to trust these days."
>AM sighs.
| "There are always a few out there who you can though."
| "I call those wolves in sheep's clothing."
| "It's a ll a game of double quadruple crossing these days."
| "You gotta have someone you can turn to. At least one close friend"
| "Tuna, but I can't count on her. I already got her hurt."
| "What do you mean?"
| "Long story short, She picked up a job from an undercover cop to look for me, rejected it, got paranoid, got hurt."
| "Are you talking about her getting shot? That wasn't your fault. I seen her express that to you. Thats was courtesy of our ever so pleasent fprmer employers."
| "Go on."
>AM perks up to what Peter said.
| >Peter took a long sip of his drink
"Well when the rest of us went off the grid, I'm sure they tried to nab her by force to try and take what they could salvage though she is damaged goods to them."
| "Huh. Who is 'they'?"
| >Peter chuckled
"Even Tuna doesn't know the truth. I doubt you wanna get involved in our mess considering all you have going on. Though Tuna seems to mean alot to you..."
>Peter said the last part somewhat teasingly
"It's up to you"
| "I'll pass. I don't think it's a good idea for me to meddle, but I can provide supplies."
| "Very well then. Let me know if you change your mind"
>Peter chuckles
"I honestly haven't came uo with a plan yet. Trying to let the waters cool first. My first goal would be to locate everyone."
| "Alright. Good luck."
>AM drinks the coffee in one go, and leaves the Bar. But in fact, he just settles in an alleyway near by, pretending to be a beggar.
| >Peter returns to sipping his beverage, chuckling alittle in amusement
This thread is permanently archived
| > The bar's phone is currently ringing.
> The Caller ID? XXX-XXX-XX12
> It rings insistently.