The Ganoltir Project Forum

A small squall rolls in off the Carnlow Gulf as you approach your meeting place and the heavens open up. While the downpour only lasts about a minute before the clouds begin to clear it is enough that the streets are now slick with rain and streaked with the neon reflections of the city's lights. A couple of gunshots ring out in the distance as you cross the now puddle dotted parking lot, but no one nearby seems to react. Random acts of violence are far to common in New Sevastopol for it to concern the average citizen going about their day.

Your employer, a fixer called Herkus De Smet, has chosen a rather unorthodox location for your meeting, especially given the professional corporate persona he appears to have cultivated for himself. You stand outside a run down looking Now Burger, a common fast food chain joint selling protein burgers. The pylon sign flickers over head as more of its lights threaten to burn out, already only reading "-ow Burger".

Heading inside, you quickly spot De Smet amongst the crowd of blue collar shift workers grabbing a bite to eat for lunch and the joint's other regular customers. The immaculately dressed fixer appears uncomfortable with his surroundings, sat in a large booth with an untouched meal neatly arranged in front of him. You take a seat in the booth and are soon joined by the other freelance operators that must have been contracted by De Smet for the job alongside yourself. Once the five of you are seated De Smet finally talks.

"Thank you for coming. Let's not waste any time," he begins. His tone is measured and professional, as if presenting in a corporate boardroom rather than a dirty burger bar.

"Audrie Asher, a client of mine was robbed two days ago. Miss Asher is a executive of Kurosawa-Callaghan here in Hawthorne and she would like this matter dealt with without the public embarrassment that would occur if this incident leaked to the press. Asher owns a Manticore Trailblazer, a modified pickup truck she uses for special assignments that require a low profile. The thieves stole the truck from its garage and intend to forge its registration and move it out of the City within the next day. Obviously that cannot be allowed to happen. You will locate the vehicle and return it to Miss Asher. For this service you can each expect $3,000. Any questions?"

Reiji brushes the raindrops from his jacket as he steps off his bike, taking off his helmet and streaking a hand through his hair. Helmet under his arm, he looks at the sorry display in front of him. Now Burger? Damn, really scraping at the bottom. Their fries really went to crap the last few years. 

He sighs, stowing his helmet and walking into the most generous definition of a restaurant. Catching a glance of his new employer, he slides into the booth and looks at the untouched meal. Bet he had to buy it to get the table. He should've gotten the nuggets. He eyes the others gathered at the table, giving his cousin a slight smile and little wave. Surprised she showed. I guess her mom did say she doesn't have much going on these days. Gotta do what you gotta do. Should be fun at least.

He cracks a confident grin, making himself comfortable while waiting on everyone to settle in. "Yo," the racer says casually, a stark clash from De Smet's odd professionalism. He raises a brow as he listens to the job, putting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands. "Rich exec like her didn't have a tracker this truck? Or cameras in her garage to ID the thieves?" You'd think she'd be more careful if this truck is so important. He shifts in his seat, reality setting in that this is a real job he's being paid for. "And uh... what color is this Trailblazer?"

Li Fei hardly registers the squall, the puddles, the gunshots — her mind instead parsing through her latest ambitions for today. It's gotta be cash, and it's gotta be quick. No favors, no long-term angle. With that ratfuck Leahy draining the shop dry, I need to spring into phase two of operations. Otherwise, next thing I know, he'll be asking for a share of my earnings, and I'll be sitting there with my thumb up my ass saying 'yes sir,' because what the fuck else prospects do I have right now without Red Devil? She snorts, a thin smile forming on her painted lips — a sad joke for one. I guess just this one. The hell was his name again? Herkle D. Smerkle?

She wanders into the Ow Burger. A regular to this shit-hole, the only thing that stands out from her usual treks for a cheap and depressing breakfast is the presence of one clean, suited anomoly seated before an untouched tray of grub. There's no fucking way that's not him. She takes a seat to await the others.
 

---

Rich people always buy the dumbest shit. A suited-up pickup truck? With all that cash in a custom pair of wheels, it's mighty ironic it gets stolen. Well, if she's willing to pay at least fifteen grand, I bet it's worth a hell of a lot more. Li Fei hardly obscures a smirk as Helmet Guy opens with a similar line of questioning.

"Yeah, question here, too. Where'd it get stolen from? Home, or work?"
 

Ryoko trudges along the dirty sidewalks, finally making it to the depressing burger place, looking at it with nothing but disdain as it comes into view. I'd made a point not to come here, and he sets it as our meeting place, what a dick. I thought he was some corpo suit? Can't even get us a nice meal at a proper restaurant. She sighs as she reaches the door, doing her best to open it gently despite the annoyance she feels and her desire to throw it open at full force. It's just another job. Herkus is the squad leader, and we're the squad. Do the job, get paid, just like before. Despite the repeated mantra in her head, she can't help but to feel annoyed at the prospect of working for someone so obviously trying to seem above his station.

At the sight of Reiji, Ryoko offers her cousin a simple nod before taking a seat next to him. She places her hands in her lap, listening intently as the man describes their job. Three thousand for one day's work? She raises an eyebrow as the details are revealed, eager to see that kind of cash again. That's almost a third of my maintenance fees. The job is dumb as all hell, but if the pay is that good then might as well. 

"What does Asher want done with the thieves when the truck is found? Bring them to her, or off them?" she asks matter-of-factly, as her new companions ask their own questions. Might as well just end them and be done with it, no need to risk them just robbing the truck again. Though if they did, hell, that's another job, another 3k. Maybe we let 'em walk after all.

De Smet appears to subtlety roll his eyes at Reiji's demeanor as the racer asks his questions. He reaches inside his suit jacket and pulls out his phone, tapping a couple of times before turning it toward you all.

"This is the vehicle in question," he says as he shows the image of the orange pickup truck. It shows the car in a small garage and appears to have been taken from a security feed.

Manticore Trailblazer Appearance

"As you can see, there were cameras in the garage, however the thieves were able to bypass them and avoid being identified. As to a tracker, that would run antithesis to the vehicle's purpose, as it could be compromised."

"The vehicle was stored in a small lockup a few blocks from here, which is neither Miss Asher's home nor her place of employment," the fixer continues, answering Li Fei's questions. "And the perpetrators of the theft are of no concern to my client. She just wants her vehicle back."

Reiji

Without spending too much time crunching the numbers or knowing exactly how the Trailblazer is kitted out, you only know roughly what it would be worth. But even still, you are aware that the total payout for this job is, at minimum, a very large percentage of how much it would cost new.

Yeah, real low profile, Li Fei thinks, raising an eyebrow at the ostentatious truck on the suit's phone screen. Too bad she had it painted in such a tragic color. Otherwise I might have opted to keep this trackerless piece of shit for myself.

"Sure, I'm in."

I could use a break from the chop shop anyhow. That last Dynamist ass-clown was such a creep, almost lost my battle with the implicit urge to dial the sedation meds to eleven and wire his metal mouth shut tighter than a fucking vice grip.

"Three grand, and it's a deal."

Reiji grits his teeth as he looks at the display, sizing up the truck. Right, subtle. And that's the color she picked? Least it'll be easy to spot from a distance. "Must be a PR disaster in sights if that's what she's willing to pay," he says with a satisfied smirk after running some quick numbers.

Almost paying what the truck's worth. It's gotta be personal, yeah? Maybe some dirt on her. Wonder how much that'd be worth.

He absentmindedly nods, paying little mind to the rest of his explanation. "Seems simple enough though. I'm game for 3k a pop." More than a month in merch and subs, all in a day. Not too bad at all. But damn if I don't want more emote slots too, and Asher's not gonna get me those.

"Got it, dead it is then," Ryoko responds casually. No need to leave loose ends on a job like this, even if they might pull something similar again and lead to a new job. Who knows who they might call in to help in the future?

"I assume that's it, Mister Palmer, Elodie states as the gestures at the run-down joint with her umbrella. She takes a look through the slightly brown windows, spots De Smet, and feels a shiver run down her spine. I've spent so much time trying to avoid places like this, and now here I am without a real choice. Ironic. The rain seems to have stopped, so she hands Kindred Palmer her umbrella for a few seconds and swaps her now slightly dirty, bright red stilettos for a more run-down pair of sneakers. She wipes the mud off the high heels and puts them in her bag, in a large pocket that seems specifically made for a pair of shoes.
 
She takes her umbrella back from Palmer and walks inside. The smell of deep-fried protein burgers hits her in face and she feels a small wave of nausea. I hope we don't have to be here any longer than we need to. I should've brought my gloves. She turns towards her boss and gestures with her head towards the table that seats De Smet and three others she's never met before. She nods at them curtly and takes off her coat, sprawling it over the seat as much as possible so that when she sits down, there is no point of contact between her clothes and whatever strange, synthetic material everyone is sitting on. Then she takes out her clipboard and starts writing.
 
Elodie has had a perpetual frown on her face ever since she turned twenty-eight, and it deepens as she listens. Kurosawa-Callaghan… Back in my time they gave the impression that they had their own preferred contacts for these types of things. I wonder what it is that brought them to a collection of freelancers. She notes down all the answers De Smet gives to questions from her apparently soon-to-be colleagues. A brightly coloured model that will surely catch attention, no working cameras, there seems to be some secrecy involved on the company's end... She looks up at De Smet."I understand that the cameras in the garage did not get any footage of them, but were they perhaps caught on any other camera within the city? Were there any tracks or any potential witnesses? Basically, anything that can help us trace the route they took after stealing the vehicle?"

I assume it is, miss Lind. Kindred answers as he takes the umbrella as she elegantly swaps her shoes.

I'll grab some burgers to-go once we are done I think. It's been a while since we've had some good food. Can't wait for Elodie to try out some EATMENOWNOWNOW sliders.
Kindred sits down with Elodie, and watches the scene unfold.

"Come now, no reason to decide on the murderous path yet. In my experience that's just setting yourself up for trouble later down the line". Kindred speaks calmly and confidently.
"My name is Kindred Palmer, and I happen to be an expert in the art of finding, of people and things both. This lovely young lady with me is Elodie Lind. And who might you be?" Kindred asks the group of youngsters.

Reiji can't help but crack a smirk as he watches the woman place her coat on the seat. Fish out of water, huh. Fifty percent chance she'll find a ketchup stain somewhere on that coat tonight. His gaze flicks to the older man, somewhat surprised that a grizzled city veteran is entering this line of work at the lowest rung. Business must be tough. Don't wind up in the hot seat when you've got a steady thing going. Well, unless you're me I guess.

He sits up in his seat, crossing his arms and flashing a beaming smile. "Reiji del Rayo, or RaidenRei on EvooTV if you're into that sort of thing," he says breezily. Wonder if this guy even knows what that is.

Someone else stuck in this shithole after a fall from grace, Ryoko thinks, as Elodie and Kindred join up. Though she's gonna have to get over her fear of touching surfaces. It's Hawthorne, nothing's clean here. Well, I guess her place must be at least, she thinks, a small puff of air escaping her nostrils in amusement as she imagines an immaculately cleaned interior to one of the cheap Hawthorne apartments that riddle the district.

The dead can't come back for revenge, she thinks with a shrug, at Kindred's minor scolding of her comment. Doubt he'd know, though. He seems more straight-laced, bet he's just against killing in general. A proper 'moral high ground' type. He's dressed the part for sure.

"Ryoko," she responds, not caring to elaborate, when prompted for introductions. So miss priss is his assistant, no wonder she seems so out of her element. Does she accompany him on all of his jobs? Can't imagine she does if she's this perturbed by a simple Now Burger. At least miss pink over there seems right at home, so we must not all be from other districts. She can be the one to let us know the ins and outs of Hawthorne.

De Smet waits patiently for you to make your introductions, before he returns to answering your questions.

"It is likely they were caught on other cameras, although involving the district's police force is not something my client wishes to do. Nor would they offer much assistance I imagine. I can give you the address of Miss Asher's garage if you think looking around may help locate the vehicle," he says answering Elodie's questions.

" If the thieves are trying to sell the truck, you might be able to find their dealings on one of the district's dark nets. There is also an ambrosia den not far from here that's popular with fences, smugglers, and other criminals. It's front is a bar called the Empress. Asking around there may turn something up, or at least point you in the right direction," he adds, offering up some more suggestions of where to start your search.

"No pigs involved," Li Fei demands, refusing to elaborate. "And thanks for the tip. I figured something was up with that place."

She turns to the others, studying them closely. So Helmet Guy streams. Not bad. I wonder if he pays for subs or if he's the real deal. And this Ryoko chick looks military. Some sort of corpo enforcer? Or merc? Hope she's good with a gun. The cyberdoc eyes the strange detective and the germaphobic woman who showed up with him. Out of place. Her more than him. I wonder what the fuck's her deal?

"Li Fei," she says suddenly, as if remembering. "My name. Lot of folk in Hawthorne just call me the Red Devil, though. I run a cyber chop-shop a couple blocks away. You've probably seen it." The confident smirk on her face is hardly hidden.

"For future reference, I am mister Palmer's assistant. Pleasure to meet you," Elodie says, though there's not any particular delight in her voice. She appreciates Palmer's attempts at avoiding unnecessary violence, though she's not sure if it'll stick. Dealing with bodies gets messy very quickly, both in the literal and the figurative sense. I'd rather avoid that if necessary.

She notes down everything De Smet tells her and then scans the other freelancers. It seems we're the oldest two here. There's a pang of annoyance at that thought and she distracts herself by writing down what everyone tells about themselves. Reiji del Rayo, streamer... hmm, I wasn't expecting to run into an entertainer. Not sure what kind of streaming he does exactly, but I do wonder how that will help us in a case like this. Li Fei, owns a shop... could be useful, even after we're done here. Ryoko...

She turns towards Ryoko. Elodie has the impression that the woman is not very keen on sharing a lot of details about herself, but she figures that if they're gonna work together, she'll need as much information as possible. "Miss Ryoko, is there any sort of occupation I can note down for you?" she asks, tapping the paper with the barrel of her pen. She can hazard a guess based on the overall vibe of the woman, but if a few years of being Palmer's assistant has taught her anything, it's that you have to be careful with assumptions.

She's a nosy one, Ryoko thinks, as Elodie questions her. She must be writing bios down for each of us, keeping track of the things we say and do. She a rat? Better not be, she doesn't look any good in a fight. "Muscle," she replies, still not keen to go into much detail with the strangers she finds herself seated with. Even her cousin she barely knows, and feels no more comfortable with than the rest. Maybe if we get this job done with no issues we can be friends and chat about or dislikes. Now is time for business.

"Agreed on no pigs," she continues, turning to Li Fei. "Not that they're good for much anyway." Weak and lazy, the lot of them. Mostly just failed corporate security, looking to exert what little authority they can manage working for 'the government.' As if anyone cares what the government does.

Returning her gaze to their employer, she asks, "Anything we need to get into a the garage? A key fob or security code? We won't find much if we can't get inside to inspect the place, see if the thieves left us anything to work with. Also, what's the deal with the Empress? Anyone there not to get on the bad side of?" Last thing we need is to end up on the bad side of some larger operation for a quick buck, even if this guy is paying us well.

"That's one thing we can agree on already," Reiji says at Li Fei's demand. "Had enough street races busted by those asshats that I doubt they'd greet me with a smiling face." Would they with anyone? Rich fuckers, maybe. He eyes linger on Elodie a moment, catching her almost compulsive notetaking. Hope that doesn't get us in trouble later. He pauses, glancing up toward her. He raises an eyebrow, studying her but keeping his thoughts unspoken for now. She looks familiar though. Hm.

The Empress, huh, he considers as he listens on. Why's it always the scummiest places with the prettiest names? Like damn, sounds bougie as hell. He shrugs to his cousin, pondering over the ambrosia den. "Probably the kinda place you read the room and don't ask too much, right? Though I bet you could just clock anyone who looks at you wrong," he says to Ryoko, almost curious how that fancy corporate tech would do in a bar fight.

"There's a security code, if that's where you intend to start I should have it for you by the time you arrive," De Smet relies to Ryoko, seemingly paying little attention to your discussions amongst yourselves.

"As to the Empress - I couldn't tell you, I have never been there myself. Although as Mr. del Rayo says, I would exercise a healthy degree of caution when dealing with its patrons."

I think that's all I'll get out of her, Elodie figures, and she notes down "muscle". The space behind the names of the other operators seems a bit empty for her liking - she prefers their casefiles to contain as much information as possible. Though based on the general dislike of police here, I'm going to assume there's good reason for any secrecy. Elodie doesn't particularly like police all that much either, they've let her down a few too many times by now. But they have access to some data that has been of good use to her and mister Palmer and she would've been willing to tolerate working with them if needed.

She notices Reiji studying her and for a split second, she thinks she sees something along the lines of recognition in his eyes. Her grip on her clipboard tightens as she silently begs that she's wrong. She's mostly faded from the general public consciousness by now as far as she knows, but Meredith said that her whole scandal is still used as a cautionary tale within the media industry. I suppose if any of these people would recognize me, it'd be the one who's part of that world... It shouldn't really matter for our work, though, she tells herself. She forcibly lowers her shoulders, which are halfway her neck at this point, and loosens her grip on the clipboard again. Let's just hope that his management, assuming he has any, will handle it better than mine when he inevitably turns thirty.

She listens to what De Smet has to say about The Empress. More questionable establishments. She looks up at her employer. "Are you familiar with that bar, Mister Palmer? I don't recognize it from any of our files, but it sounds like the sort of place you'd have been to before for one of our other clients."

"I've been there once or twice for a job. I think. But I prefer to start our investigation at the beginning, at the garage. Once we set a foot withing the Empress, the thieves will probably find out about us too, and the clock will start ticking." Kindred replies to his assistant. "Anyone have any question's left for our employer?" he then asks the group.

"Garage first," Li Fei agrees. Based on how these thieves treated the locks and security systems, we'll see if they're back-alley clowns or actual pros. She feels Palmer's eyes on her. "No, we're done here. Hey, give me a lift?" she asks, turning toward Helmet Guy.

"Solid plan. Less likely to get shanked there too," Reiji replies, nodding along with the investigative veteran. "Don't know about you, but stab wounds aren't on my bucket list."

He looks to Li Fei, somewhat surprised at her boldness with the question. "City bus got you down?" He cracks a slight smirk before shrugging. "Sure though, we're all going to the same place anyways." He looks to Ryoko, tilting his head a bit to the side. "You need a ride too, cuz? Can't fit more than one passenger, but I can always make a couple trips."

Li Fei bristles at Helmet Guy's jab, but her defiant face and noncommittal shrug show little. Not everyone has that streamer dough. Some of us are actually trying to reinvest every dollar we make, not spend it on fancy bullshit.
 

"Very well, I will leave you in that case," De Smet says as you resolve to head for the pickup's garage. "Here is the location of the garage," he adds, tapping on his phone for a moment, before you feel your own devices buzz in your pockets.

"Let me know when you have the vehicle in your possession. I look forward to hearing from you," he says, standing and making for the exit, leaving his untouched meal on the table.

Anyone who looks at their phone would see that the garage is about a 15 minute drive away, or a slightly longer $2 bus trip.

"Meet you there. Excuse us, we have a bus to catch." Kindred says as he get's up. "Do you want to grab quick bite miss Lind? My treat. I am grabbing some classic starchfrienows, eatmenownownow's, and an ultrafauxcaf soda."

"No thank you, sir. I'm not particularly hungry," Elodie lies. She doesn't think he's ever really noticed, but she doesn't trust Palmer's food choices. She's been the one in charge of food at the office ever since that time he brought her that deep-fried starch pizza with questionable protein bit toppings for lunch. She spent most of that afternoon running from and to the bathroom. It was an awkward third day.

She nods at everyone else. "We will see you at the garage."

"Nonsense, it's my treat." Kindred replies as he moves to the counter.
"Hi there, can I have a number 9, two nownownowmenu's, one large, with bright blue flavour soda's, and 2 more eatmenownownow's regular?." Kindred asks the greasy, tired looking tween at the counter.

Ugh. Elodie suppresses a grimace and says with a blank face: "In that case, thank you, mister Palmer." Okay, I'll just need to make it until the garage without eating it. Maybe one of the others will want it.

"Yes," Ryoko nods to her cousin. After a brief pause, she adds, "please." Kind of him to ask. Better than hoofing it, like I did here. Once I get some creds I should invest in a ride, or at least a bus pass. This is getting difficult to manage.

"You can take her first," Li Fei offers to Reiji as she walks away from the table and toward the register.

Too good for Now Burger? she considers, watching Elodie's noncommittal response to Kindred's offer. She's in the wrong fucking industry.

"Make that two number 9s, and add a BlasTea. Regular's fine." Li Fei looks up at the middle-aged man, studying his face. "Your treat, right?" She bears an amused smirk.

"Sounds good, catch ya soon," Reiji says, giving a quick wave to Li Fei before gesturing for Ryoko to follow outside. "Need a helmet? Or is that skull of yours tough enough?" He smirks, straddling the bike and scooting forward to give space to his cousin. He slides his helmet back on, ready to zip over to the garage. Might be able to shave some time off the drive if we're smart about it. Bus can't slip through alleys like I can.

"I am not paying for her order." Kindred says to the counter tween.
"What, your name is now miss Lind too?" Kindred replies standoffish to Li Fei. "If you're looking for a sugar daddy, I'd suggest to look elsewhere. And maybe brush your hair first."

Li Fei sours, her cheeks red with frustration. "Ha, yeah, fine. Don't flatter yourself, Sugar Daddy. Let's remember where you're shopping, and where you're working."

This old, two-bit grandpa thinks he has money? Last I checked, we're getting paid pennies to go sniff out a used shitbox.

"Whatever, cancel my order," she complains to the server, rolling her eyes. "I'll just take the bus." She sulks off, headed toward the door to find her own way — having lost out on both free food and a ride.

Reiji makes his way to the address provided by De Smet, with Ryoko clinging to his waist on the back of his bike. Meanwhile Li Fei is soon joined at the bus stop by Kindred and Elodie with their meals in tow.

The bus pulls up a couple of minutes later, an old beat-up looking vehicle, plastered in advertising boards painted over with graffiti. A biofuel to electric conversion kit, a common sight on many older vehicles, sticks out from the engine block with cables running down the length of the bus before disappearing beneath it. Climbing aboard and paying the fare, the trio find the cleanest seats they can find and settle in for the journey.

Transactions

Elodie: -$4 (assuming she is also paying for Kindred as he has no cash)
New Total: $121

Elodie takes a look at the untouched paper bag on her lap. This smells horrible. The bus ride is dangerously bumpy and even if she didn't have her disdain for fast food like this, it would probably be wasted anyway. She taps Li Fei on her shoulder. "If you're still hungry, you can have mine," she says quietly, taking a quick look at Palmer to make sure he's not looking at her disapprovingly. "As I said to mister Palmer, I do not have much of an appetite right now."

Reiji feels the rush as he whizzes through the streets, the neon lights reflecting off his visor. "So cuz," he shouts, his muffled voice still cutting through the air whooshing past them. "How's Hawthorne been treating ya? Hell of an adjustment from those shiny corporate towers. Settled in though, yeah?"

Li Fei climbs aboard the converted bus, her main means of transportation around the City these days. She takes a seat near the pair, though leaving a seat as a buffer between them. She is almost zoned out completely to the shakes and bumps and jerks when a tap on her shoulder startles her.

Li Fei turns, staring blankly at Elodie, then the takeout bag offered. Then, her face curls into a scowl. The fuck makes her think I want a handout from Little Miss Secretary and Thinks-He's-Sugar-Daddy over there? The growl in her stomach causes her to suddenly dodge Elodie's gaze. Ah... fine. Only a dipshit goes on a job hungry.

"Uh, yeah, whatever. Your loss." She takes the paper sack, unraveling it to find a pair of eatmenownownows. It only takes her a moment before she's already through an entire one. "So what's your guys' deal?" Li Fei asks through a mouth full of burger, cocking her head back with eyebrows furrowed, studying them. "You, what, hard up for cash? Don't look like the type to be out here sniffing out some corpo's personal shitbox. Nah, you look like you got dayjobs." She drags her sleeve across her mouth to wipe away the errant sauce, somehow not smearing her lipstick.

Elodie gets the impression that Li Fei isn't particularly happy with her offer, but since the girl takes the bag anyway, she assumes it's fine. Even her years of Nelson luxury haven't really gotten rid of that Hawthorne tendency to not waste food and this was the easiest way to do so. As soon as her hands are free, she takes the opportunity to straighten her skirt and make sure her coat is still in its place as a barrier between herself and the bus seat.

She raises an eyebrow when Li Fei asks them about their deal. Well, I suppose we do stand out, she thinks, as she compares herself and Palmer to the other three. Or Hawthorne as a whole. "Well, mister Palmer here is a private detective. This is more or less an extension of his day job. And I'm his assistant, so I'll accompany him whenever it's viable to do so."

In this case, because we're getting paid per person instead of one lump sum.

Elodie observes Li Fei for a bit. She feels a sense of familiarity - not necessarily with Li Fei herself, but Elodie could name at least three women in the run-down apartment building she grew up in who acted similarly abrasive. "I'm not sure if hard up for cash is the right term, but this is part of how we make ends meet, yes. Within Hawthorne you never really know when the next well-paying job will appear, so we have to take what we can get. I assume it's not particularly different from your reasons for being here."

Kindred starts eating a burger, not really minding that some of the sauce is dripping out on the seat, as he notices miss Lind sharing her meal with the rude redhead. Well, I'll just have to save miss Lind an eatmenownownow for later. They're better reheated anyways. Let's hope these kids got the skills needed to earn us our payday.

"Assistant, huh?" Li Fei responds, eyeing Elodie's unmarred skirt and coat. "You're right about Hawthorne. And you're right about me."

She glances at the detective, apparently keen to eat his burger and not so keen to chatter. She looks back to Elodie. "Between a few projects right now, you know. Business is slow at the moment. It's this economy," she explains, refusing fault. "Cost of parts goes up, and folks start getting antsy about they go to for installs and maintenance. Like I provide anything but top-fucking-notch care... But only a dumbass falls for that manufactured scarcity bullshit, anyways. Everyone knows FFS has sat their massive, hairy ass on the entire system, from interest rates to manufacturing windows. The stock ticker doesn't move unless those thieves tell it to. Anyways, yeah, I needed the cash."

"No need," Ryoko responds to her cousin's offer of a helmet, instead hopping on unprotected before grabbing hold. No chrome on him, makes sense he'd want that sort of protection. Arabashi tech is all I need to stay safe.

She enjoys the wind blowing through her hair as they zip through the city, watching the passersby and the derelict buildings as they pass. On the road, going quickly, the neighborhood actually feels somewhat peaceful to her, instead of the stifling it had felt since her arrival weeks before. I can see why he prefers the bike to a car, the breeze is nice.

She is pulled out of the moment when his next words come, a simple question to her current state in life. "It has been... different," she manages in response, doing her best to hide the disdain she feels for what she sees as a worthless slum. "But I am adjusting the best I can, yes," she admits, much to her own annoyance. What else can anyone do? Not gonna turn into some bum on the street raving about my glory years when I can work to regain them.

"It will take time to really be used to... all of this," she continues, motioning with one of her arms to the area around them while still gripping tightly with the other. "And the work. Following orders from your squad leader is a lot simpler than hunting down leads and fixers with more leads. How long you been at this, anyway?"

"Can imagine, felt kinda the same when I first moved here. But eh, you'll settle in," Reiji says back, looking back at her for a moment at a stoplight. Big change, but better than what she was doing... At least from what her mom said. "Feels like more life here, ya know? Fewer corpo cubicle drones just saying 'how bout that weather' or 'tell Jenise and the kids hi' or whatever the hell they do."

"Got a bit more freedom here." At a lull in traffic, he revs and speeds up, letting the wind, the sights, the rush take them. Nothing reckless, but enough for a quick thrill. He beams, feeling the motorcycle purr from under him.

He looks back toward Ryoko for a moment again, cocking his head. "Doing what? This operator thing? Brand new to me too." He shrugs his shoulders, keep a grip on the handles and throttle. "Been getting by on streaming and street races since I moved here, at least after mom stopped sending her 'I'm worried about you' stipend each month."

Reiji and Ryoko pull up at the garage and are joined a few minutes later by the trio of bus riders, who walk the last block or so from the bus stop. The garage is located in the West of the district, in a small light industrial area beneath one of the mag lev viaducts that run through the district. As you regroup you hear a whoosh overhead as a train speeds past on its way out of the city after unloading at the Smith Cross Terminal.

The garage itself is a small squat assuming concrete building, nestled between a larger warehouse and a rundown abandoned looking apartment building. A razer wire topped chain-link fence encircles a small dusty yard at its front, its gates hang open, a cut chain and padlock lying on the ground.

You are in territory not claimed by either of Hawthorne's major gangs, at least as far as you are aware, but like most of the city there is still some gang presence. Further down the street, you spot a small group of youths stood milling about on the street corner, likely an unaffiliated small time local gang.

Elodie listens to Li Fei's rant with amusement. "I'm not particularly well-versed in the cyberware economy, so I have nothing to say about that, but I understand the anger, miss Li Fei. I have no experience with Falcon specifically, but I can't say I hold particularly warm feelings towards the big corporations I've dealt with."

Then the bus arrives and the time for talking is over. The moment her sneakers hit the pavement Elodie pulls out her clipboard and starts sketching a map of the surrounding streets, noting down the route from the bus stop to the garage. She's not a great artist, but the maps usually do the trick and they're important for the case files. She continues drawing until they reach the chain link fence. There she nods at Reiji and Ryoko in greeting and glances at the crime scene. Her attention is drawn to the padlock lying on the ground. I sure hope there's some sort of additional electronic lock here. If this is all that Kurosawa-Callaghan executives use to guard their secret vehicles for special assignments, then I'm inclined to say that they asked for it.

He really has no idea what I did for Arabashi, huh, Ryoko thinks, as Reiji mentions cuble drones and small talk. I guess it's better he didn't. Not sure how much trust we'd have if he knew I was an enforcer. "There is freedom in some senses, yes," she admits. "Though a different type than I am accustomed to. I now am free in what I do for work, but less free in my ability to do or buy things outside of it. A tradeoff, which hopefully is worth it in the end."

She frowns as he admits that being an operator is also new, having hoped he'd be able to help guide her through the early steps of it. Guess racing doesn't pay the bills well enough to get by here. Not surprising. "Not sure if street races are my thing, but I am definitely seeing the appeal of this ride. Might have to grab one of my own once this job is done. No offense, but not looking to bum a ride everywhere we go."
 

---

Once everyone else arrives, Ryoko wastes no time in stepping towards the chain link fence, making her way into the yeard and further in. She approaches the door leading further inside, trying it to see if it is unlocked. Hopefully it's not that easy, but given the state of this district I wouldn't be surprised.

Li Fei nods at Elodie's platitudes, more interested in eating the burger she's been given. She's nice. That's why she's not cut out for this line of work. She'll find out soon enough.

---

Upon their arrival to their employer's garage, Li Fei eyes the youths further down the street. "They might cough up something if we throw a couple bucks their way," she suggests, though that's not her priority right now. Stepping past the sketching Elodie, she follows Ryoko toward the door. "If they've got alarms or some other digitized mainframe, I'll take a look," she claims.

The garage has a large roller door for an entrance, with a smaller to it side serving as an entrance for personnel. Trying the door you find it locked, however a numbered keypad is built into the handle. Checking your phones, you see that De Smet has indeed sent you the code for the door.

5 - 8 - 4 - 2 - 2 - #

The small light on the mechanism turns green and you hear a click as the door unlocks.

Stepping inside, you find yourselves in the garage. While the roller door is only wide enough for one vehicle, the room is big enough for about three, although with the theft of the Trailblazer it currently sits empty. It is relatively bare and utilitarian, consisting of a raw concrete floor and walls of unpainted breezeblocks. A couple of tool cabinets and a bench sit along the back wall, while further down into the garage you can see a small crane and a set of spare tires stacked up in the corner of the room.

"If you do, I'll introduce you to my mechanic. Maybe he can swing you a deal," Reiji says with a grin, waving at the other three as they walk up. He follows Ryoko toward the garage, eyeing the local hoodlums down the street. "Not a bad idea, Red. But types like that'll have seen something even when they didn't, so grain of salt and all that, yeah?"

Stepping into the garage, Reiji is surprised to find it so barren. With that pink nightmare of a truck, would've expected a bit more... color in here.

OOC

Where are the cameras in the garage?

Looking up at the ceiling, you are able to spot a single camera up in a corner, overlooking the two entrances from its vantage point.

Hmph, not much to look at. Someone else can check the cameras, not my specialty. Ryoko steps over to the tool cabinet and begins opening the drawers one by one, from bottom to top, searching through them for anything that might stand out - secret recording devices, or other not-tools that don't belong chief among them.