Actually, you were supposed to call him, but we can work it this way.

Albert calls back to Copperhead. "I did locate Ms. Goldenhair. She is in the medical offices of the esteemed "Dr. Bob Quickstitch, MD". I am sending you the address now. I did take the liberty of informing Dr. Quickstitch you would be stopping by to price some new implants.

"As for Mr. Cooperman, he has been surprisingly quiet. Nothing from the past few days. It's possible he's on travel. I hesitate to mention it, but it's also possible something more foul has befallen him. It is a liability of the circles he travels in. I will continue listening though. Apologies for the delay."

Julie looks up from book #239 of Transanim, a comic about about an intelligent red panda, a robot, and a talking human who go on space adventures together. She gives her trademark crooked grin "Yeah, of course. I've got a friend who does faith healings. She's a shark shaman, if you can believe it. She does this whole song and dance too, it's awesome. Why? You feeling okay?"

"Tanks.  Ya know where Cooperman likes ta squat?  Kin mebe do some legwork 'an see if 'e turns up.  Der's a short fuse on da job.  Not sayin' ya should stop yer diggin' doh."

It went without saying that the legwork would involve probing by her teammates.  Copperhead rarely got positive results when approaching strangers for information.  Or anything, really.

"Oh, hai, I'm feeling like my usual self. Even got a good nap in before we opened. Specifically, I'm looking for anyone that may have been taken in on <provide date of run here> and still might be kicking. Morgues have turned up nothing, which is good, but I figure you've got more knowledge in that area than me. Know anyone that'd fit that profile?" he responds, idly working on a deck of an old Steve Jackson card game called "Illuminati" as he sips his coffee.

After waking up, Caduceus checked his messages to see if he had any new notifications from his mortician friend or any of his team members, then got ready for another long night.  He grabbed a quick bite to eat, headed to his storage locker for his gear and motorcycle, then headed out to meet up with the others.  When he was already on the road he called up Copperhead to see where he could meet up with her vehicle, since it seemed to be their base of operations at the moment.  He was also curious to find out what information Noruas was able to dig up, but decided to wait until he was off his motorcycle before asking.

Albert responds, "Unfortunately, no. Mr. Cooperman keeps his personal life well concealed. But he is not normally difficult to reach."

Julie responds, "Hmm... Not my normal circles. I can ask around though. I don't suppose you have some more comic-book related questions? Or magic maybe?"

Caduceus message light blinks. There's a message from Kaira; "Hey, may have found your Jane Doe. Scraggly, blonde, wearing a couple bangles. She didn't check out as magic, but she's missing uh... pretty much everything. Bit of a dissection, really. You sure those perforations were bullets? Anyway, give me a call if you want to swing by. I'll bring out the bucket."

"Soka.  Keep diggin if ya can.  We'll go pay a visit ta Freya"

She dials up the team.  "I foun' da mage.  Duck, probably bes' if ya does the chattin.  An Snakey, be good ta have ya.  She may be hurtin, but spect she kin still wiggle 'er fingers.  Noruas, kin pick ya up too if yer done yer shift.  If ya kin run a back check ona Doc Bob QuickStitch first, dat'd be ace."

"Yeah, here's one for ya to ponder: Batman used to kill the shit out of people in the early days. Seriously, no code or anything. I have an issue reprint in the stacks somewhere where he murders this mentally ill guy by dragging him from a rope in a helicopter." he nods sagely, checking his comm when it rings and holding up his finger.

"Gotta take this."

"Well, let's hope she's receptive. Very good find, CH. I got nothin' here but that, that's something we can work with. You can pick me up at 8. Same place you dropped me off."

waiting a bit, as there aren't any actions listed here. Everyone ready to head to Bob's Quickstitch to meet Freya?

Want to give Caduceus and Noruas a chance to say whether they're coming with or not.  Also wondering whether Noruas learned anything interesting he wants to share.

Ready whenever you guys are.

Sorry, I meant to get a post up earlier yesterday, but it completely slipped my mind when I had time to do it.  Caduceus is ready to go!

Before taking off on his bike, Caduceus messaged Kaira back, "Thanks.  I'll let you know soon."

While picking up a serving of greasy mystery meat from a street vendor for a quick meal before work, Caduceus replied to Copperhead's call.  "I'm on my way," he confirmed, grinning at being called Snakey.  "Any of you dig up additional useful intel from your contact networks?"  Even as he asked he was busy texting Kaira, "I don't think I'll need the bucket."

Send me your location, and I'll meet you guys there.  Sorry, couldn't find much else on Cooperman.

The rigger provided the address, passing on advice to avoid the 173rd street bridge.  The combination of the poor maintenance and the metal scavenging from those who lived beneath made her certain it was bound to collapse.  And with her luck, a teammate would be the one to trigger it.

"Meet up wit my van.  I'll be a block away.  I gots a 'pointment.  Whitey, ya kin be my boyfren.  Snakey, ya kin mebe pass out in da waitin room while ya does yer astral stuff an fines our girl."

Understood.  I'll see you guys there.

Noruas heads home first to get cleaned up and take a quick nap before changing and putting on his mask and heading back out.

How long does it take me to get there, PB?

Noruas's ride is pretty uneventful, via subway and taxi.

The rest of the party proceeds to the clinic, when a light machine gun roars to life before the van. Copperhead immediately takes evasive maneuvers, pulling the van into a side alley while her drones boot up. A pair of bikes in Blood Rumbler colors, accompanies by a Red Rover roar by, spraying flechettes into a bar down the street, then peel off. Those midgets in the Red Hot Nukes aren't going to like the fact that their favorite hangout doesn't have a front window anymore. Copperhead can take a few turns and put some distance between them, in order to continue on unmolested.

The clinic itself is clearly marked with red crosses, probably using paint. The building is squat, reinforced cement, with steel shutters over the windows and a pair of old jeeps parked out front.

Go ahead and specify who enters and who is staying outside.

Although you expected it, the smell of disinfectant hangs heavy in the air. A place this size obviously cannot afford the ultrasonic disinfectors commonly used in hospitals and clinics throughout Seattle. You enter a small waiting room, decorated with dilapidated furniture and tasteless wall hangings. Across the room, a harried nurse sits behind a plexiglass screen, rapidly entering data into a well worn terminal.

You must have hit the slow time, because most of the chairs are empty. Except for a couple of rockers waiting in the corner, the remainder of the room's inhabitants are squatters. All are hoping for some free medical service, which is occasionally provided at the end of the day. The nurse continues her typing as you approach her station.

The Lonestar drone would already be flying.  Not much point activating the other drones.  It'd take 5 minutes to unload the Doberman and the RV's armor would be breached the whole time.

The evasive maneuvering wasn't strictly necessary, but there was no point advertising that she was armored. Ducking out of the way made her seem like no threat.  And she preferred to keep it that way until she was ready to unload some lead.

Copperhead's drone scoped out the area well before the bison arrived, scoping out a parking spot of sorts in an alley adjacent to the clinic.  If there's cabling suggesting a potential for an access point tap, she'll park right beside it.  The security situation made her a tad nervous.

"Snakey, ya wanna scan da place 'fore we goes in?  I'm thinkin' ta say dat it's my boyfren dat wants da cyber.  I wants ta get back ta o'er watch right fast.  Noruas er Snakey, one o' ya k wit stayin wit da rig 'til I gets back?  Lemme know on da comm if ya sees trouble."

She set the screen in the back to show feeds from the front and rear cameras of the Bison as well as the overall area view from the Lonestar drone, stationed a comfortable 1 klick up.  She shoved her deck into a tattered knapsack and stepped out into the rear of the RV, pulling on her respirator and goggles.  With her hoodie up, her scars were barely visible, but she seemed somehow disconcerting anyhow.

She considered digging out the drill and passing it to White Duck for kicks, but decided against it.  That man's hoop was still puckered up way too tight.

Noruas arrives on scene not long after the Rumblers had passed through.  He had gotten an hours worth of sleep but it did not help his mood.  He calls in to the team via his comms, I'm on the scene.  Just give me ten minutes to check out the outside of this place, then I'll join you guys back in the van, wherever that is.

The dwarf walks around the outside of the clinic observing and looking for openings of entrances or exits as well as points where he can tap into the matrix of the building.

"Yeah, I'll scan the place before you go in.  I can watch your vehicle for you when I'm back, but if you want any spiritual protection I will need to enter the premises.  Something for you to consider while I'm away."  With that, Caduceus slumped into one of Copperhead's seats and he shed his physical body as a snake sheds its skin.  After taking a second to make sure his own body hadn't slid into a haphazard position, he headed for the facility.

Firstly, Caduceus checked for any barriers the hospital may have, as well as for any other basic magical defenses that might sneak up on him.  Then, assuming the risks were minimal, he took note of the general layout of the facility before beginning his search for the mage.  He knew she was supposed to be badly injured so he scanned patients for auras that would reflect trauma similar to what he would expect her to have.  He would then take a closer look at the likely candidates' auras to determine who would be magically active.  Once he was pretty sure they had found their target, he would really peer into her aura and try to determine all he could about her (assuming she was not also looking back at him on the astral, or astrally projecting herself.)

There is a steel door in the back, but no handle. Most likely it can only be opened from inside. Noruas doesn't check if it's locked, but given how the rest of the building is fortified, it's a pretty good bet.

There are some lines to the building; power and telecom. But they seem to old to support proper, high-throughput Matrix work. Noruas may be able to crack into the telephones, but he doesn't expect to find much else wired up here.

Caduceus does a magical sweep of the clinic.

Duck gets out and has a smoke while the rest of the group does recon, idly wondering what sort of surgery one such as himself would possibly need or ask for.

After returning to his body and sitting upright, Caduceus reported his findings.  "Well, I didn't find the girl, but there was one room I couldn't enter.  It has a magical barrier.  I'm guessing that's where our target is.  It's the last patient room of the six that are there."  He gave more detailed instructions about where the room was so that they would know exactly where it was in relation to their current location.

Copperhead chugs down the remains of her coffee, then addresses the face.

"I 'sume ya wants ta talk yer way in 'gain.  Ya kin bring da case fer back-up 'r an extra set 'o eyes if ya wants.  I'll check ya in, den head back ta da van.  Ya wants anyone ta hang in da lobby fer backup?  Snakey kin probly grab a spirit ta 'stract folks if ya need.  'r plant some s'gestions.  Keep yer comm on, so ka?"

She did the best to keep the edge out of her voice when she said the last, but doubted she'd been successful.  Life would be so much easier if most jobs didn't require teams.

The rigger was hoping to make this a quick in and out.  She'd spent far more time in clinics than she cared to recall . . .

Noruas returns and reports his findings.

Seems there is no other way in.  There is an exit in the back with no way in.  No points in which I can tap in either.  Need me to go in with you guys as an extra gun?

Duck yawns, going through the idle motions of a kata to stretch out a bit.

"Doubt we've got a fight on our hands inside. Probably best served to keep all eyes on the exterior to handle any unknowns. I think as long as I'm careful around the wounded tiger herself, she won't bite, and if she does, it's not going to be in her advantage to do so, depending on how extensive the injuries. Do we have a name on her, by the way? It'll help."

You already know her name's Freya.

"Last name's Goldenhair.  Ya knows everythin else I does."

EDIT: fixed formatting
This message was last edited by the player at 03:27, Thu 05 May 2016.