In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 174):

It's a school day.  There's a lot of activity but nothing you see while sunbathing looks out of the ordinary.

---

You find Al's no problem.  The guy behind the counter smiles at your order and rings it up.  "Sorry we're so crowded.  Got no tables open in the front."

You're the only customer in here.

"You can have a seat in the Buffet room.  Go down the hall past the bathrooms.  You'll see it on your right.  I'll bring your slice in."

Down the hall, past the bathrooms.  There's the door.

When it opens, you see a surprisingly large room. It's set up just like a buffet, except there's no food out and the steam table is covered with a sheet.  Tables and chairs are stacked against one wall.  Except for one table and two chairs.  Those are set out in the middle of the room

A man in his early 50s is sitting there, reading a Pynchon novel.  He looks up at you.

"Ms. Davis, right?  The ladies behind you are going to pat you down."

There are two women behind you suddenly.  They just sort of appeared there.  These people are freaking ninjas.

"Don't make a fuss.  If you're wearing a wire...well..."  He shrugs.

They frisk you.  Rather thoroughly.  One then nods at the man and they leave.  They don't bother taking your guns or knife.

The man puts his novel down and gestures at the empty chair.  "You want something to drink?"

He stands and pulls the chair out for you, sliding it under gently as you sit down.  Then he sits as well.  "You can refer to me as Mr. Salesman.

"In order to properly serve you, I will need to ask some questions. You may answer vaguely or not at all.  However, keep in mind the more I know, the better equipment I can offer.

"First question:  Do you need weapons?

"Second question:  Do you need armor?

"Third question:  Do you need a vehicle?

"Fourth question:  Who is the target?

"Fifth question:  Are they a meta?  If so, what are their powers?

"Last question:  Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Paypal?  We don't take Discover."

Aubrey smiled at the guy behind the counter as she headed to the back. The thought of pizza making her tummy rumble as she pushes through the door. It made her pause for moment when she saw the table with the cloth as her mind tried to make sense of a bathroom and buffet tables being the same thing.

Aubrey smiled and nodded to the man as she lifted her arms for the pat down.

"Left hip side, double side left leg, knife inside right pants, and I may have a small knife in my bra.... i really can't remember if I added it or not.... sorry about that"

Aubrey looked up at the man and nodded

"No fuss at all. I'm in the sort of work that it makes sense for these things. Weapons checking ect.  I just didn't want your ladies to get cut on my weapons."

Aubrey sits in the chair the man indicated and asks for some water.

"Thank you so much Mr. Salesman"

Aubrey nodded her head and listened to his questions before answering.

"Honestly i'm not sure what I was expecting but these questions, for whatever reason , I wasn't thinking about. I'm someone who believes in being honest and i'm here to get help...er service... um... forgive my lack of a good word, it escapes me"

Aubrey ponders for a moment

My first answers are going to be all truth. Yes please on the weapons, my brothers have taught me to never go anywhere without weapons, a huge yes to armor as I'm not sure exactly what i'm going to face but having something like armor is something that can be the difference in success and failure. Vehicle, honestly I don't think I could afford but if you had the ability of creating a royal pegasus I could call forward and ride.... I would find the funds."

Aubrey paused as she picture herself as a Valkyrie and then continued

"I seem to be getting mixed into meta affairs more and more lately and my current situation is a possible rescue from the Scale Society. So the answer is I believe the meta powers are... varies. I tend to need things that keep me hidden, quiet like your ninja body friskers. So as much as I wish I could say these meta powers are what i'm facing, it seems to be changing. And I'm a Visa kind of girl. "

Aubrey takes a deep breath

"So, depending upon funds I would say armor is probably the most important than weapons. What would you suggest?"

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 176):

"Let's focus on the armor and weapons then."

He stands and walks to a wall.  He pushes on a section and a section of the floor slides open.

"Forgive the theatrics.  This way please."

There's a short flight of stairs down leading to a small room.  One wall is a large plasma screen TV.  Mr. Salesman waves at it.

"022XT," he says without preamble.  The screen lights up and you see a picture of a female model wearing a suit of thin blue plastic.

"Just Kevlar won't help much in your situation.  This is a sheath suit made of mitocarbonite bound polymers.  Heard of that material?  The reason why is that development of it was abandoned.  It's lightweight like silk.  It is incredibly flexible." The model does the splits and then somersaults backwards. "It's tough.  It can take shots from a Barrett M107A1 without tearing.  It's flame resistant up to 850 degrees Fahrenheit.  It can insulate against electrical shock.

"The drawbacks are breath-ability.  Wearing it is like wearing a sauna.  It has no pores.  Your body heat will remain trap.  Depending on your fitness level and how hydrated you are before you put it on, you could last a half hour to two hours wearing a suit like this.  If your activity level is high, then even less time.  The model here collapsed after a twenty minute demo."

He waves a hand and the screen freezes. "Of course, that's assuming you wear a full suit like this.  We can create a vest and leggings outfit which would give you flexibility, protect your vitals, but still give your body enough surface area to handle it's own heat.

"This option is within your price range.  We've already checked your credit and personal resources."

He has no hint of shame as he says this.  He points at the screen.

A new model shows up.  This one wears something that looks like kevlar body suit with small panels sewn on the forearms, shoulders, knees, and abs.

"Option 2.  A Project UltraMan Operator's Suit.  The UMan O Suit.  Project UltraMan was a program the Pentagon ran in the 80s.  They were designing combat exoskeletons.  If you like Anime, think 'mechas'."  He shrugs. "My daughter loves that shit.

"This is a suit developed to be worn by pilots of such crafts.  It's an armored suit, capable of handling hits from most standard firearms.  It's insulated against electrical attacks and has a decent resistance to fire.  The plating you see is armored computer hardware.  You can link it a transmitter and the transmitter to your lap top.  You'll have internet access through the goggles on the helmet and a holographic keyboard that will be projected on the air in front of you.

"The downsides are it's bulk.  It's chunky and so it's clunky.  The connection to the transmitter can also be jammed or hacked.  So it's up to the user to monitor it's internal security during use."

He looks at you and smiles.  "Questions thus far?"

"Um....is it possible to do the legs and vest of option 1 and the goggle/helmet from option 2 for access and recon?"

Aubrey listens to what else Mr. Salesman had to offer.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 178):

"I'll work up an estimate."

He waves a hand and the screen goes dark.

"Exhibit O-Charlie-24."

A section of wall slides open and a man in camo and army fatigues steps through.  The man nods at you and turns towards Mr. Salesman.

Mr. Salesman digs in a pocket and pulls out a small sphere, grayish black and the size of his palm.

"You ever seen Phantasm?"  Salesman chuckles and, after pressing the side of the sphere, throws it up into the air.  The sphere starts to fall, stops, and then hovers there.  "Defend."

Salesman nods at Army Guy.

Army Guy pulls a wicked looking knife out a sheath strapped to his back.  He hefts it and lunges at Saleman.

The sphere dips and smashes into Army Guy's head.

Army Guy takes a couple of steps back and shakes his head.  Blood is flowing from a cut in his forehead.  Army Guy wipes his forhead and tries to lunge again.

The sphere zips around and passes in front of him, forcing him to stop and take a step sideways.  The sphere quickly comes around and smashes into Army Guy's back.

"Enough." Army Guy takes a staggering step or two, puts the knife away and nods to you again.  He then steps through the opening in the wall, which closes behind him.

Salesman holds out a hand, palm facing up.  The sphere settles into his palm.

"The XO Personal Protection System.  A solid ball of carbonite steel.  On a full battery, it will last for four hours and can obtain speeds up to 55 mph.  It bonds to a single user.  Unless it's reset, it can't be bonded to another user.

"It's commands are limited.  'Protect'.  'Scout'.  'Illuminate'.  It has a camera and flash feature.  It can't record on it's camera, but it can be linked to a lap top for recording.  The flash does drain it's battery.  At full power, it will knock out about ten percent of it's battery.  But that flash will light up a football stadium.  It's potent enough to blind a large number of opponents.

"This tech was developed by a personal security firm back in the 90s.  Products that came out at the same time made it obsolete.  But it obviously has uses.  For someone trained in hand-to-hand combat...like yourself...it's an extra fist.  The camera is suitable for spying, though it's not a state of the art camera.  Fair warning.  Still, it will see through peepholes.  And the flash can come in useful.

"Interested?"

Aubrey smiled at Mr. Salesman and looked up at the section of wall that slide open. She see's the man in camo and smiles at him. Looking at the small sphere she nodded her head no to Mr. Salesman's question.

"No I've never sceen it."

Aubrey frowns when she sees the Army man get hit in the head twice her nursing background screaming to check the man out. But she is also amazed at the device.

"Yes, very interested. How close must it be to its bonded partner? Is he able to be repowered up by those traveling battery packs?

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 180):

"In Defense mode, it will stick within a ten meter radius.  In Scout mode...farther.  But it will depend on the radio signal it receives.  The user can lock it on to a certain frequency.  As long as it's within range of receiving that signal, it will operate.  And yes...someone else broadcasting on that same frequency can try to hijack it.  But that's only in Scout mode.  In Defense mode, it bonds to your heat signature.  So it's pretty steady that way."

He pockets the XO and from the other pocket comes up with what looks like a pair of plastic brass knuckles.  "The Lonely Gal.  It was actually in development by a company that produced boxing equipment.  They wanted to branch out in to personal protection gear.  Their developer was inspired.  Unfortunately the company went under before they could get it into production."

He fits the knuckles over his own and holds it up.  "One for the ladies.  Designed to add some oomph to a weak punch.  But the strength of punch isn't really the issue.  I imagine yours packs sufficient wallop.  But this device will still give you some oomph.  Three settings.

"Low grade electroshock.  South of a Taser hit, but capable of shorting out electrical equipment it comes into contact with.

"High grade electroshock.  North of a Taser.  Very north.  If the target isn't in good shape, there's a good chance they'll either have a cardiac event or a seizure.  Drains the battery something fierce as well.

"Last setting...and the trickiest.  Sonic.  Your punch comes with a thunderclap so to speak.  Anyone not wearing protective gear...and that does include you...will be deafened.  Good chance of being disoriented as well.  It also sends a vibration through the target, doing a bit extra.  The boom and the vibration can't be seperated.  They're a package deal.

"The battery life is good as long as you don't lean on Option 2 too much.  There are some other drawbacks.  A flash or a sonic boom can give away your position.  But sometimes you need to make sure your punch gets through.

"Wanna take a swing with it?"

Aubrey nodded her head

"Is there a protective gear for the user on the sonic boom? And does the electroshock mode have a radius so if I was wearing let's say metal spiked gloves for some reason would the shock also travel backwards?

Aubrey smiled

"I'd love to try them. Maybe a dummy and not a person would be best"

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 182):

Salesman claps his hands.  The wall slides open.  After a moment, another man wheels out a punching bag on a stand.

"Our guys are pretty tough.  But if you'd rather use a dummy, up to you.

"No standard issue protection on the sonic boom, no.  But we can install some in the helmet you were asking about.

"The shock will only work on contact.  So if you keep your metal spikes out of the target while you're shocking them, it shouldn't travel.  Of course, you have to be aware of your environment.  Doing it in bare feet on a wet floor probably isn't the best idea."

The knuckles adjust.  They feel comfortable though a little heavier than you thought they would be.

The punch feels solid.  The shock is triggered by putting pressure on the bit between your middle and ring finger.

There's the smell of ozone and a small char mark on the punching bag.

"How's it feel?"

Aubrey only smiled to answer at first. How did she feel? Pretty amazing....

" feels really solid.  the trigger doesn't seem that off putting and really flows with the punch. These girls would be really handy"

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 184):

Mr. Salesman nods.  "So.  With the budget we have to work with, I think the armor, the XO, and the glove is what we can do.  That includes the credit Bullfrog has with us that he instructed to be applied to your purchase.  Remember to send him a thank you card.

"Unless you wanted to give up one of those to look at something else?"

Aubrey shook her head no and felt her stomach drop when she considered all that Bullfrog had done for her

"No... these are perfect. Is there a way where I can work back or pay back sometime in the future to get Bullfrog's credit back ? Not only will I send him a card but i'll have to figure out something to truly express my appreciation. Thank you Mr. Salesman, this has been so... exciting"

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 186):

"We're an underground arms dealer.  Not the neighbor whose window your baseball broke.  You wanna pay Bullfrog back, go to him directly.

"We'll need to take some measurements.  Pretty sure we've got the numbers, but I like to cross check.  After that, it will take us a day to get the materials prepped.  You'll receive an e-mail from a company called The Toffee Outlet.  It will have instructions on how to pick up your goods.  I'll intiate a draft from your checking account to cover the $1,724 not covered by the credit.

"We know you have many choices in your underground, illegal arms dealing and we appreciate the opportunity of allowing us to arm you in your efforts at fostering brutality.  If you need our services again, please send an e-mail with the subject 'Loved to Hear From You' to customer.service@kinkybirds.com."

He smiles and gestures to the stairs you came down.  There's a woman with a tape measure waiting for you up top.

Anything else for him?  If not, let me know what you want to do during the day you have before you get your stuff.  Thanks

Aubrey makes an encrypted notation for her own records on how to contact the service again.

"Thank you Mr. Salesman"

Aubrey heads down the stairs and pays all that she owes. It would not be good to piss off an illegal arms dealer.

Waiting for her gear Aubrey first sends a text to Bullfrog

~~words can't do justice to the amount i'm thankful. Thank you ~~

Aubrey didn't want to put anything that could be used later in any situation badly. She also reviewed all her feeds and set up three run cycles that went in different directions but lead back towards the school to set a pattern and gave her some observations on what was around.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 188):

Pick a number between 1 and 10.  Then do that once more.  Let me know both numbers.  Thanks

You work out your routes easily enough.

Day 1- It's a Thursday.  Staff begins showing up for work as early as 5.  That's mostly the cafeteria staff who have to start prep work, but some teachers and janitorial staff arrive as well.   First bell is 8:30 AM.  The school is junior high.  The kids have five periods a day, with an hour lunch.  School lets out at 3:45 PM.  After school activity seems to run as late as 6 PM.

The wrestling team, the school's premier sporting club, and the drama club run later.  The drama club is getting ready to put on a run of Fiddler on the Roof.  Wrestling club has a tournament coming up.  Both groups are gone by 7:30 PM.

Staff is usually gone by 6 PM.  You count three, maybe four on sight security guards.  They look legit.  Older guys with bellies.

There is a perimeter check though.  Younger guys like those in your building.  You see Alan in one such group.  Seems there are two groups, of either two or four guys, who circle the block.  One always has a visual on the school, but they do so from different sides.  The groups rotate frequently, so unless you watched the school for a three hour block of time like you are, you wouldn't necessarily notice.

There's an extra loading bay in the back of the building.  It's set off a ways from the other two and isn't opened at all during the day.

More to come, maybe, once I get those numbers.  Thanks

5 and 7

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 190):

Someone's Joanie on the Spot.  Good picks by the way.

There also seems to be some kind of underground tram line.  You're almost sure of it.

You noticed the windows of a couple of buildings rattling even though there was no heavy traffic passing by.  You also notice a very organized dimming to the street lights occurring about every twenty minutes.  It's systematic.  You can watch the lights at one end of the street dim and then the next in the series follow suit.  Almost as if something is running on their line.

You time one of your runs to coincide.  There's a faint thrumming sound.  Nothing that's noticeable.  Unless you're looking for it.  Even then, it's slight.  It could be a hundred things.

But you get the feeling it's a tram line or subway tunnel.  And your city doesn't have a subway.

The pattern of dimming lights also indicates whatever it is, it's passing under the school as part of that twenty minute pattern.

:) good timing and my favorite numbers !!! :)

Aubrey goes back to do her research on what she may have found. She checks to see if there is some sort of code or pattern to distances on entrances for subway stops and if she can find any record of any being were she thinks she may have come across them. She is looking for some sort of entrance to their tram line that she can get into without having to go through her own building. She checks for any abandoned buildings near the school path that she might be able to go through the basement.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 192):

The three areas you already identified seem likely stops on the line:  Somewhere in the school, down in the Storage Room, and that sewer line point at White Cross.

If you had to guess, the tram line probably runs under the sewer line, at least for some distance.  The 'dimming' you've seen seems to follow a main sewer line on the map.  But the line is too small to accommodate a tram line.

You could try to enter the sewers elsewhere and work your way over.  But no guarantees that would work, you have no idea how well watched those routes are and...ewwww...sewers.

The White Cross point has watchers, but you don't recall seeing cameras, so much as there were groups of 'homeless' guys who looked too fit to be homeless.

Vic suggests that you fabricate a sewer incident, one that would require a 'work crew'.  But now that I've said that, he texts, I can't imagine they don't have something in place to monitor that kind of activity.  But it might be an option.

Up to you how you want to try to get in there.  Just know:  you're on their turf.  So don't expect it to be easy.

I'll wait to see if you have any questions and then we can pick up your stuff.

Aubrey looks for any venting shafts that her spider can explore otherwise she will try other options leaving the sewer option for last. She needs to consider entrance and exit



Ooc can't think of anything else ;)

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 194):

Sorry.  You mean venting shafts in the building?  Or shafts leading to the Tram line?  Did not want to assume.  Thanks.

In reply to Editor-in-Chief (msg # 195):

Sorry should of been clearer, I was thinking Tram line

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 196):

No worries.  I figured, but didn't want to assume since you asked about the spider in the house earlier

There's a number of sewer openings.  You set the spider into one...

It takes four hours of watching it crawl through goo and rat nests.  Twice you see a camera...

Pick a number between 1 and 10 please

But you think you manage to maneuver the spider away before the cameras scan it.

You manage to send it down what looks like an old unused plumbing line.  Judging by your map and the spider coordinates, you're under the school.

You come across a shaft that heads down.  It's rather large and square.

Sending the spider up or down it please?

Aubrey took a deep calming breath as she tries to bypass the cameras she saw. Making it a little worrisome that she only found two because they are like cockroaches, if you see one there are a lot more you aren't seeing.  ( Number 7) But she makes a notation on her map as to where she saw them. If able she moves the spider to walk the ceilings and slightly off center.
Aubrey sends her spider down the shaft she finds and tries to be extra precautious as she heads into the lair of the enemy.

In reply to Audrey Eden Davis (msg # 198):

That number keeps working for you.

The shaft has four rails that run vertically down each wall.  The spider has an easy time hugging onto one and moving down.

It descends a dozen feet before the mics pick up the noise.  The roaring rushing sound of a tram passing.  It's down below somewhere.

As the spider descends, the tram fades, as if it's headed off into the distance.  Then there is a whirring, rumbling sound.

It's getting louder.