London 2056 - A CyberPunk RP [Game thread - Started]

[CrazyGirl17]

"Like I said, there was a double murder and nobody knows what kind of weapon did it." Ira said, crouching down in front of the spent casings. "And I think this casing might be the lead I was looking for. Mind if I take it?"

Liam shrugged noncommittally. "Go ahead, it's no skin off my nose what you do with them." He paused for a moment, taking in what the other man had just said. "And if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by a 'lead'?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Thanks for the offer, but I've found my way home in worst states then this." Kaz said whilst flashing a grin at Selene before walking over to the kitchen with his empty wine glass in hand and placing it on the counter next to the sink. It was what he said next that puzzled Selene slightly."So, uh... Goodnight, I guess." Kaz seemed to be acting a little off his game so to speak as he stood still in the doorway, as if something was occupying his mind. Or was it the notion of saying goodbye that troubled him?

Considering both options at the time, Selene pushed herself off the corner sofa, leaving her glass on the table and carefully approached Kaz, making sure to give him space.

"Are you alright Kaz? Is something the matter?" Selene asked showing a hint of concern for the gentleman before her. Whilst she wasn't exactly a people person when it came to helping others with their feelings, she was at the very least a good listener.

 

[Knife-28]

"Are you alright Kaz? Is something the matter?"

"The matter? No...hah." Kazuko gave a curt laugh and a wave to Selene's question, "Just uh, a bit rusty at this whole thing. I, I had a good time tonight, horrible bloody bombing situation aside, and... you know maybe we could do this again sometime."

The smart thing to do would be to call it a night and walk away. To cease all contact with the woman before him that worked security at CyCorp. That would be the smart thing, but he was also a (normally) cocky 20-something that, truth be told, was slightly taken by said woman before him that worked security at CyCorp. So the smart option was not the one that worked out.

In the grand scheme of things, it was actually one of Kazuko's smoother moments in regards to women. Kaz knew this in his mind, and he also knew that the there were teenages fumbling at their first attempts of romance that had less embarrassing moments then this, and for that reason he decided to cut his losses and bank on his overwhelming charm to back him.

"So, I'm booked this weekend at Vitality. Hope to see you there."

Kazuko left it at that, and moved from the doorway of Selene's apartment to the hallway. Moving at a pace firmly in the grey area between a walk and a run, Kaz made his way downstairs to the apartment's parking lot. A few minutes later Kazuko's car was back in the dreary late night London air, and to his credit he waited until the 3rd red light to sigh and bang his head on the steering wheel.

"Christ, I'm a bloody idiot."

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

"I have friends who know a lot about guns. They might know where this casing comes from. If it's the same weapon that killed those two people, I might be able to find who made it and who committed the murders." said Ira. Ira picked up the bullet casing with his sleeve and put it in his trouser pocket. Ira stood back up. "I'll be off then. If you need me you have my number." Ira waited for a little bit, he wanted to see if Liam had anything left to say before he went home for the night.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

"I have friends who know a lot about guns. They might know where this casing comes from. If it's the same weapon that killed those two people, I might be able to find who made it and who committed the murders."

Liam nodded, that sounded reasonable. Though he still couldn't help but wonder who Ira was working for...

"I'll be off then. If you need me you have my number."

"Alright, if anything comes up, I'll let you know." Frankly, Liam was tired and wanted to go home and fall asleep. "Quite frankly, I'm ready for this night to be over..."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"The matter? No...hah." Kaz said as he gave a curt laugh and waved of Selene's concern. "Just uh, a bit rusty at this whole thing. I, I had a good time tonight, horrible bloody bombing situation aside, and... you know maybe we could do this again sometime."

Hmm, that wouldn't be such a bad idea, it was nice now that I think about it.

"So, I'm booked this weekend at Vitality. Hope to see you there." And with that urbane look in his eyes Kaz had left the apartment.

"Was that an invitation Kaz? Well, I suppose if nothing comes up within the next few days, I could always make time to come and visit." Selene said to herself aloud, before looking towards her desk and the computer that sat on it.

"But first, I best send that email to my parents that I was thinking about earlier. Don't want them getting worried about not having heard back from me." So she quickly hurried over to her computer and switched it on, waiting a minute for the boot up sequence, then logged onto her emails and wrote up a short email to her parents stating that she was safely back in London.

After that, she headed to bed, feeling rather tired now, whether or not it was the result of the night's activities or jet-lag she wasn't quite sure; chances are it was a mixture of both.

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

Ira departed on his bicycle heading back to his apartment. When he got home he locked up his bike and headed up to his room. Ira placed the casing in his desk drawer, he could call his sister about it in the morning. After that Ira headed to bed setting an alarm to wake him up at a reasonable hour.

 

[Knife-28]

Kazuko sighed, as if trying to push the entirety of the embarrassment stricken memory of his departure from Selene's place out with his breath, as he pulled off the highway and parked on a small back street sandwiched between two apartment blocks. What followed the arduous process of Kaz lugging his DJ'ing equipment up 5 flights of stairs, and by the he stumbled through his door, he was leagues tireder than he had been a scant few minutes before, and he unceremoniously stripped before collapsing onto his bed.

With the prospect of sleep nipping at his heels, Kaz killed his HUD and drifted off into the blank dreamscape of his own making.

 

[FalloutJack]

General Andrews had been staring at the information all night. The murders, the bombings, and a host of other reports in between... They weighed upon his psyche and taxed the soul, making it hard to think. He had a fairly-good notion of how to proceed, because one of his Operatives had come to a similar conclusion in her report, but he wanted to double-check. They didn't always use it, but the Orthrus was the pinnacle of analytical thinking and missed no details. Minimizing the reports on his screen, he connected to the mainframe of their tactical computer, inputting his clearance code when prompted. From there, the view changed to the sign of Omega, and the interactive posture of two wolfen heads followed. It was a voice-interface system, programmed to answer his questions and pursue them logically.

"Orthrus, I am of the opinion that Operative Asagi is right in that the murders and the bombings are a third-party action, but what I can't figure out is the underlying purpose. Connect to relevent data sources and extrapolate: First of all, do you agree that Asagi is right?"

"I agree. The timing of the explosions is a clear indicator that neither the H.A. Dynasty, nor that of CyCorp, were responsible either company doing so would be an example of mental instability on the part of the bomber, who could be considered third-party out of disillusionment with the companies or the world in general because that party rejects both corporations equally. There is a high probability that the murderer of the two officials is also the bomber or connected to the bomber."

"I do not. It is possible for a callous individual or set of individuals to sacrifice parts of their own property in order to harm the enemy, so long as their goal is attained. The H.A. Dynasty is known for its cunning manipulation of circumstances, and had a smaller loss of life which one might write off as acceptable losses to their part. Such an organization may have also attempted to frame an ordinary individual with shell casings which match those of the murder scene."

The computer was counter-programmed against itself, a dual process designed to argue a point to its logical conclusion by having two lines of probable logic in the room until one of them prevaled. Asagi's theory was more likely, but the act was a bit slapdash if you wanted to conceal the fact that there was a third party. If you really wanted them at each other's throats, you would explode one building, and then the other after a large enough delay to make it seem like retribution. That was Head Two's point, to counter One's point about the Dynasty's familial togetherness in the organization. It wasn't their M.O. to blow themselves up. The two heads continued on, aloud or muted if a certain General was impatient. When they were finished, they concluded that there were no overt indicators of it being a company job, that a third party was the most-likely answer for now. Andrews then asked the most-likely scenario for these actions. When it told him, he didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned. The computer didn't make jokes, and yet the suggestion was... Instead, he lit himself a cigarette and picked up his comm unit.

"Get me Asagi."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was morning now. Time to wake up. There was a message waiting for the Deserter. It was an information packet about the murders in the hotel, and about the bombings. It focused on their exact timing, how they were both simultaneous actions, with loss of life for either company involved. It was followed by the following words and curious signature.

-If both sides are to be played against the middle, who is in the middle?-

Strange... Who would want to bring this to his attention? Why would anyone want to bring chaos and murder in London to the attentions of a man who had left all that behind when he left his post?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Irina did not have a good night. They kept her waiting, procrastinated with questions about her background and other useless tidbits of information, and then they hit her with that lovely nugget of joy: "Can you please verify your location at the time of the Bombings?". Oh good, oh wonderful. Now, not only did they think that she had done several grievous and bodily things to her ex-living ex-husband, but they were following up with the notion that she might have something to do with the damage of two buildings, even though that would include the maiming of her daughter. The police were just not up to Karine's standards of thinking.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Kazuko would wake up feeling...not as refreshed as he'd hoped he'd be. Bad dreams, maybe? Or bad night? Oh yeah, that might be it. Well, at least he wasn't- Aww hell... He'd slept in by at least two hours! Definitely not gonna be a good day for him either.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

That night, Liam and Ira - in their respective places of rest - slept the night and woke up with identical poundings on their respective doors. Why? Because a pair of cops at either door were both going "Sir, could you come with us, please? We would like to ask you a few questions down at the station.". Looks like Irina was about to get some company...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jane Anderson also had sort of a confrontation, but it was not the same as the other two. That much began with her passing a couple of observation drones, and then for some reason one of them began to follow her. Soon after, a police car came to a halt ahead of her and a man and a woman stepped out to speak to her.

"Ma'am, may I see your ID, please? One of our drones has picked you out as what the Americans call a 'person of interest'. It's just a follow-up on a report of a person matching your description."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

She woke up to the sound of a call being put through to her from HQ. The ID posted it as General Andrews, who had been looking over her report and others concerning the recent incidents. Karine was in casual clothing right now, but that was alright. You didn't have to be in uniform over comms from home, even though HE was.

"Yes, sir. What can I do for you?"

"The Orthrus has projected a possible scenario for the murders and the bombings, the possible end-result for these acts."

"What did it say?"

"Anarchy."

There was a pause and a stare from Asagi now.

"You're joking. Our expensive military computer suggested that the bombings in London were part of an anarchist's plot to overthrow the government? I don't know whether to laugh or cry."

"With the likelyhood of a third unknown party being behind the murders and the bombings, the computer believed that this was a first stage towards crippling London as a whole."

"I'm skeptical, sir. I assume the other head believes otherwise? What'd it say?"

"A personal grudge against the two companies for a past wrong. I have our people trying to uncover who exactly the two companies may have crossed. It's a long list. I want you to pursue the information we have right now to the culprits. Find out what you can, pursue every lead you can. I assume that you will question the H.A. Dynasty for information involving this as well?"

"Yes. Whoever I need to to see this through."

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

"I'll be there in a minute!" shouted Ira. Ira got out of bed wearing boxers and the t-shirt he was wearing the night before. He grabbed his jeans and yesterday's socks from a ball on the floor next to his bed, wasn't much time to be picky about what he wore. He put them on, followed by his boots and jacket. Ira walked to the front door leaving his gun and the casing in his drawer. If the police were going to search his apartment they wouldn't have knocked. Ira left through the door and closed it behind him. Ira looked at the two police officers. "Should I call for a lawyer now or when I get to station? I can wait until we get to the station but I'm not answering questions until they get there and I'd hate to waste your time." said Ira.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Liam watched Ira go, wondering what he had to do with this whole thing.

Ah screw it, the night's been long enough, I need a good sleep...

With that thought in his head, Liam got on his bike and drove home, thinking this whole ordeal was over and done with.

...Too bad that wasn't the case.

-

The next morning, Liam was awakened by a pounding at his door, and a voice saying, "Sir, could you come with us, please? We would like to ask you a few questions down at the station."

Mentally swearing, Liam reluctantly got up and got dressed, knowing full well it wasn't going to get any easier. He could try to make a run for it, but who knew what kind of backup they might have?

No, the best thing to do right now was to go along with things but keep an eye out for an opening, just like his Pa taught him way back when.

Liam opened the door, eying the cops waiting beyond the threshold. "Well, let's get this over with..."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

~ Karl Adler ~​

The meeting in the café was mostly to be expected, Karl thought as he strode back to his car. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that CyCorp wanted more of the investigation done in-house than he thought was truly necessary or prudent. He supposed it was largely paranoia thanks to a long-standing 'rivalry' with the H.A. Dynasty, but it struck him as a little more than that. But he couldn't be sure, and he was a little uncomfortable to admit that part of the reason he wanted to cooperate with the Military in their more official investigation was due to the lovely Karine.

Once the car was started however, he didn't hesitate to start a phone call through the car's dashboard. After all, it wasn't too early to call Ari and Toshiro as far as he knew.

Not too early. They were up. Karl would get a couple of rings in, and then the display would be routed to a decent-looking living room, where the feed automatically centered itself around the individuals present. Toshiro looked...very much like a well-aged Japanese college professor, the kind who - in his youth - might've been like the Indiana Jones of scientists. He was dark-haired, balding a little, and had an old-fashioned pipe on hand. Ari had striking angular features that might've had one mistake her for elvish in another setting. Here, it was just attractive. She was slimmer than him, both were firecrackers of genius who...usually retained accents despite years of living in Japan.

Ari: Ah! Mr. Adler, good morning.

Toshiro: What brings you to us, then? Possibly the explosions?

He was glad to see that they were both already up and about. Though while Ari and Toshiro both looked well put-together, he imagined he looked like a dreadful mess compared to how he normally presented himself.

"Partly. It's more than bombings on the both the Dynasty and CyCorp's headquarters however: We've had a pair of murders. One employee from both companies, and we aren't entirely sure what exactly killed them. So, the assignment's come to me, and since I was told to bring the best I know on board, I immediately thought of you two." Karl told them with a small smile.

"I also met you daughter, Karine," he added quickly, and he schooled his face so he didn't show any of the slight nervousness that he felt, "In fact, she's heading up the military investigation in regards to the bombings."

Toshiro did a rather thoughtful look with a 'Hmmm', then said...

Toshiro: She had not mentioned this to us yet. I imagine, though, from what we've been reading, that she is going to be very busy at this time. We're grateful for you to be considering us in this investigation.

Ari: Murders, though... Well, what we can do, we will do.

Toshiro: Where will you begin? We would need your files on the subject, of course.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much. So far, all we have are a few shell casings and photos of the crime scene and it's victims. Though I imagine the company will pull a few strings to get a hold of the autopsy and ballistic reports, which will likely go a long way. Besides that, all we have is speculation, and at the moment we don't have much in the way of that either." he told them with an apologetic shrug.

"What's worse is that the company wants our conclusions as soon as possible, and... Kept as in-house as possible. A private, family affair, as it were." he said cryptically.

Ari laughed shortly.

Ari: Of course they do. They have to 'protect their own interests', meaning that if they find out someone in the company did it, they're going to hide it...though I know for a fact that you just can't hide things like that anymore.

Toshiro: But we'll leave that for later. Are there any priminary deductions or was that to be the subject of our first study?

Karl sighed softly.

"At the moment, that's our starting point and what we have to work with. I haven't had time to come up with any theories of my own just yet since I got the assignment not but a few minutes ago. So, once I've gotten a research team together and gathered what information we have, we go from there." he told them.

"In the meantime, give your daughter my regards. It was nice meeting her. I'll contact you when I have everything ready." he said, his hand moving to disconnect the call.

Toshiro: Mr. Adler!

That would stop his hand for a moment.

Toshiro: From your point of view, what is your opinion of our daughter, how she's doing? We are concerned for her, of course.

He wouldn't have to say why, because he met her.

Karl hesitated, and had to quickly bring focus back to the road as he started to creep a little to close to the lane next to him.

"What? Oh, ah... She's a strong and lovely woman, and quite frankly I don't envy her the job ahead of her. You know as well as I do how CyCorp can treat outside inquiries, even from people connected to the company like she is through you. But she seemed alright when we spoke over breakfast." he said, becoming very distinctly aware at how uncomfortable he was starting to become.

Toshiro: I see...

He appeared to be thinking something as he scratched his chin.

Toshiro: Very well, then. We will join the team and get to work on this. If there is something to learn, we will find it.

Ari: Drive carefully, please.

"Thank you." Karl said dryly before he hung up.

With a sigh, he reached up and pushed back his hair. He couldn't recall the last time that a call had gotten quite that uncomfortable. Though, during his many... Liaisons with lovely women, he never had to actually speak with any of their parents, especially parents that knew him beforehand.

His eyes widened with sudden realization. He told them that he had had breakfast with her. They'd probably assume that, knowing him, something had happened between them that was more than just simple conversation. A stab of uncharacteristic panic washed over him as he wished he had kept his mouth shut about it, but as it was, it was too late to take it back. Calling them again and telling them that nothing had happened would only make things worse. He groaned quietly to himself before he forced himself to relax.

It just wouldn't do to get worked up about it when he had business to attend to. What he needed to do was focus on the task at hand. He could worry about Ari and Toshiro's reactions after.

 

[Knife-28]

Kazuko loosed a guttural that sounded like the bastard love child of a yawn and a groan as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. He reached up to rub his tired eyes (first with his right hand, then with his left as his sleep addled brain remembered that his other limb was currently sitting on his bedside table) and waited while his more inbuilt augs booted themselves up. Sure, the extra two hours sleep he had was probably good for him, but it was also two hours in which he could have been doing something constructive, such as mixing or browsing the web.

Clicking his arm into place, Kaz rose and idly mused over the events of the night as he dug out whatever ingredients lay around the cubic meter of space he had the privilege of calling his kitchen. As the sound and smell of sizzling meat and eggs greeted his senses, he mentally took stock over the previous night. 4 hours of putting his skills on show down at one of the hottest nightclubs in town, 2 mega-corp employees dead in a mysterious shooting, another two bombings of said mega-corp and one potential date (using the loosest definition of the term), with a real life woman, this weekend.

As Kaz sat down on his couch, steaming bowl of rousong & egg in hand, and plugged into the net, he idly considered that today might not be a total write off, at least not yet.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

9:00 AM. That was the time that blinked incessantly on Selene's alarm clock as she awoke with a quiet sounding yawn. Looking out to her balcony window, she saw that it was still raining like the night before, although this time it was a light drizzle instead of much heavier rainfall. Selene tidied her hair up before leaving her bedroom.

Making her way towards the kitchen to prepare some breakfast, Selene switched on the TV to see what there was. Naturally, all the major news channels were reporting on last night's double murder case and the subsequent bombings of two of London's major businesses. Newsreaders reported that attempts were made to get statements from both CyCorp and H.A. Dynasty, along with the Metropolitan Police, but were met with a rather stock response.

Leaving the TV to play on in the background, Selene headed towards the computer with a plate of Crepes filled with jam and a glass of orange juice on the side. Checking her emails whilst eating, the first email to catch her attention was a reply from her parents, saying they were glad to hear that she was safely back in London, but also concern for what had happened there. This surprised Selene somewhat, as she didn't think that Belgian news channels like Focus TV would report on something like this. Guess when stories about two major corporations breaks, it travels far and wide.

Finishing her breakfast and continuing to look through her emails, Selene was interrupted by a video phone call. Accepting it, her monitor changed briefly to show the CyCorp logo, then again to show a smartly dressed woman in black with glasses, her hair neatly tied in a bun, and the company logo on her lapel.

"And you are?"

"Jane Monroe. Personal secretary for the CEO. Mr. DeGrasse would like to speak with you personally with regards to an upcoming assignment that he thinks you would be most suitable for."

"I see, but isn't head office a little exposed at the moment?" Selene remarked, not-so subtly referring to the gaping hole that the down-town building now sported.

"Exactly. That is why all company operations are being performed out of Site B for the foreseeable future. There is a car waiting for you outside to take you to there. Once you reach the entrance, inform Reception, and they'll have someone escort you here immediately."

"Understood. Tell the driver I shouldn't be long."

"Duly noted. Good day Ms. Dumas, and good luck." With that the call terminated. Selene didn't waste any-time in getting herself changed and equipped for the day ahead, which she felt was going to be a long one. Roughly five minutes later, she stepped outside The Continental and into the awaiting car where she was driven off to Site B.

 

[Neuromancer]

Hospital - Surgical Recovery Ward
To Catch A Predator: Corporate Espionage Edition​

They say dreams are gateways to the subconscious. If that's the case, Charles thought, then the subconscious can go pike off. After a day of narrowly escaping death -be it death from dwarven berserkers, burning buildings or falling debris- Charles at least wanted a few good hours' sleep. But no, he had to dream of that in particular.

The scar that instance left him, despite being nearly two years old, was as fresh as an apple falling from a tree. Natalie was the first serious relationship he had ever been in, having gone strong for 3 years, during which both learned of each other's skeletons, and worked together to lay them to rest. They both had suffered, and in sharing their suffering they bonded fast and much and the relationship was, in many ways, therapeutic.

But that blasted fire took everything away.

"Okay, I guess."

He sighed, regretting his words. What a stupid question to ask a child that lost both her legs and her father and was confined in a hospital room high on drugs to keep the pain from making her scream. Good going, Feargus. Charles. His name was Charles. Snap out of it.

"Who's Natalie? You were yelling that name out in your sleep."

Charles' eye twitched, and his face twisted into a frown, surprise quickly overtaken by bitterness. That was the last thing he wanted anyone to hear, especially a little girl like Sienna. Charles always was reluctant to speak of his past, in part due to the fact that his past had died in a heart attack, and he would always come up with some quick retort to misdirect or evade the subject. But not with this. This one was like a knife twisted deep into his abdoment, and the mere mention made him sink deep(er) into depression. He needed a drink

"I hope my mom's okay."

The mention of her mother reminded Charles that now was not the time to go down the memory lane or wish a whole cabinet of booze would magically appear for him to drown in. Irina had entrusted him with Sienna's care, and he couldn't back down from that no matter how shitty the past made him feel.

Snap out of it, ye piking bastard!

"Yer mum's gonna be fine." he said cheerfully as he turned to face Sienna, putting on a brave face, "It's jest that some misunderstandings needed ta be cleared. She'll be back before ye know it!"

I hope.

The door opened behind him, much to his surprise. Had Irina returned from her trip to the police station? No way. Even with Charles' drug-impaired sense of time, this was too quick. He turned to look at the door, eye opening wide from surprise.

"Gentlemen?"

A group of people entered the room, and from the colours and insignia of their uniform Charles identified them as CyCorp. One of them checked the medical record on Sienna's bed, before turning to nod to the rest, as though they had found found who they were looking for. As though a signal, a nurse entered the room, dragging along a wheelchair

"I apologize for interrupting your recovery, sir. We'll be out of your hair in just a minute," The man stated, not realizing that Charles and Sienna were familiar with each other.

"Where are you taking me?" Sienna asked, her voice drowsy as they had injected her with an additional sedative in preparation for her transportation.

"Well, little miss, we're taking you to one of our augmentation clinics. You'll be getting your new legs soon." The man in the uniform stated with a smile on his face, was it the drugs or did the smile seem too... plastered... on the man's face.

"Mister Charles, didja hear that? I'm getting my augs..." Sienna said excitely, well as excitedly as a drugged up little girl could.

Augmentations? At her age? She was way too young for augs currently in the market, and the experimental ones for sale were definately outside Irina's price range. But what definately got him worrying was the fact that Sienna was being sedated; an act utterly unnecessary.

Something was wrong.

"Her mother entrusted me with her care while she's away," Charles muttered mistrustfully, "Ye wouldn't mind calling her so that she can tell me that herself, would ye?'

"Sorry sir, I've got my orders directly from corporate HQ." The man stated, this voice starting to sound annoyed at being questioned by a patient, "I'm sure that she's been notified since I have all the paper work here filled outand her signature at the bottom. It's best that you not have to worry about these things sir. She's in good hands."

Oh, no. It was best that he did worry about these things.

"Can I see those papers ye mentioned?"

Reluctant, the shady-looking maybe-CyCorp employee pulled a few sheets of paper and handed them over. Sure enough, it all looked legitimate to one that hadn't spent a large amount of time working in corps. Such agreements required a lot of time, paperwork and paying lawyers amounts equal to the GDP of smaller third-world countries like Greece to find loopholes in the legal code for them to work. Irina had spent the night at the hospital and now at the police station, and the incident happen but a few hours ago. No way they were able to come to such an agreement so quickly. He had to find a way to stop them. Maybe if he called the nurses and named his suspicious, maybe he could stirr enough a ruckus to drive them away, and call Irina to tell Asagi about it.

"Well, alright then." he said in an attempt to quell suspicion, moving his hand to the button.

The man looked at his watch briefly before turning to his associates.

"C'mon guys. We're behind schedule. She's supposed to be prepped in twenty minutes." The man called out before noticing that Charles' hand was rather close to the call button. The false smile that he was wearing suddenly dropped away as he placed his hand on the IV stand, especially close to the hanging bag that contain the IV cocktail that had been responsible for Charles' drowsiness.

Putting the bag in his hand, the man began to squeeze it gently, forcing some of the liquid sleep out of the bag, down the line and into the bed ridden man's veins.

Noticing what he was doing, Charles grabbed the man by the coat in an attempt to stop him, only to for his hand to be shaken off and pinned on the bed, Charles still too weak to put up anything resembling resistance.

"Ye... piking... bastards... ye're not-"

"Goodnight, Charles." The man said. Charles hadn't given the man his name had he?

The drugs took their toll, and whatever feeble struggle he put faltered, struggling to keep awake as the world started blacking out and his eye got increasingly difficult to keep open.

Sienna...

"Fucking grey ops." a distant voice said, "Least with the others I don't have to leave the assholes alive."

It was the last thing Charles heard, drowsiness overtaking him, his last thoughts being about how he wouldn't, wouldn't, let them get away with all this.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

London 2056 | London Police Station | Interview Room #23
Enter Lieutenant Charlotte Sorrowfeld​

Irina Rostikova's augmented ears flattened against her head as let out an impatient sigh. They'd stuck her in the interrogation room for some time now with no sign of anyone coming to interview her in regards to her "role" in the CyCorp and HA Dynasty bombings. Despite the fact that she was keenly aware that they were attempting to sweat her out by leaving her by herself for an inordinate amount of time, she still couldn't keep herself calm knowing that her daughter was still in the hospital waiting for her.

"(Are these cops just standing around all day with their dicks in their hands)" Came the yet to be voiced thought in Irina's brain. She would have voiced it for the audio and video pickups as well were it not for the timely intervention of the door being opened.

Obviously this officer had not been standing around with a dick in her hands, unless it had been someone else's, since the female detective was rather lacking in that particular anatomical department. Instead she'd been biding her time as she watched the Cat Eared VidCaster on a live video feed from the comfort of her office, a veriable palace compared to the cramped room they'd stuck the Suspect Rostikova inside of. The woman sat down opposite of Irina and pulled a rectangular piece of Smart Paper, scrolling through the details of the bombings as well as the reported assault on the late Mister Cray.

"Lawyer." Irina said simply.

"Excuse me?" The Detective asked, not bothering to look up from the report in front of her.

"Lawyer."

"Well, you haven't been charged yet so, I doubt you'll be needing one of those any time soon." The Officer said as she flicked to another page of the report.

"So that means I can leave then." Irina countered, displaying the oh so fashionable chrome handcuff that was locked around her wrist.

"I think you'll want to stay for what I have to show you first. After that, I'll let you go if you still want." The Detective said before making her introduction, "My name is Lieutenant Charlotte Sorrowfeld. You're here because you're a suspect in the bombing of the CyCorp building, a bombing that you're suspected of committing due to your recent legal issues with your former husband, Mister Nathaniel Cray."

"You shitting me, right? My daughter was injured in that explosion." Irina said, her voice stunned at the sheer stupidity of the allegations that had just been leveled at her.

"No, I'm not shitting you and I'm quite serious, as serious as these crimes that you've been suspected of committing. Honestly, Ms. Rostikova, did you think that you could get away with this? We've all the evidence we need to take you to trial and toss you into prison for all eternity. But that wouldn't be fair to your victims, having to sit through a long and drawn out court case, would it? If you simply sign a confession, we can just close this case and you can rot in a prison cell while your victims can try to get on with their lives." Charlotte said. There was a slightly sadistic smirk on her face as she said this. She knew that Irina would flatly refuse to sign any sort of confession.

"If I wanted him dead, why wouldn't I have shot him? Why would I injure my daughter and kill the people who aren't involved with my shitty marriage?"

"Simple. Are you familiar with the name, John Allen Muhammad? He was suspected of committing a killing spree as part of plot to kill his ex wife and regain custody of his children." The Lieutenant said, "Since we're aware of your fascination of all things from the early 21st, I believe that you would have come across this information before and came up with a similar plan to regain custody of your daughter, one Sienna Rostikova-Cray."

This theory was just too stupid for words. No. It was beyond stupid. It was uber-stupid. But there it was, a confession letter waiting to be signed by suspect Irina Rostikova being slid across the table. There was a small beep that came from the direction of Lieutenant Sorrowfeld as she shut down the recording devices in the room.

"Just in case you're thinking of not signing... you'll want to consider this." Charlotte Sorrowfeld stated, the smirk blossoming into a full blown smile filled with sadism.

Looking down, Irina noticed that the confession form had been replaced with a video feed, one that was filled prominently with Sienna's face. She was strapped down to a bed, in the back of what looked like an ambulance. The personnel surrounding her, however, did not look like your run of the mill ambulance medical crew. Each one of the men inside the van might as well have been a clone of each other as each had the rather distinct look of someone that had been involved in the military.

"As you can see, we have your daughter and if you want to see her on visiting day at the prison, you'll sign this form." The Woman who promised to serve and protect stated as the video was replaced once again by the confession form.

Irina sat there, frozen, unmoving, stunned, not knowing what to do. If she didn't sign the confession document, it was more than likely that the next time Irina saw Sienna would be on the back of a milk carton. If she did, she'd go to prison but at least Sienna would be alive. This woman, this asshole of an officer, knew what she was doing. It spoke volumes. It inferred that this was not the first time Charlotte Sorrowfeld had done something like this which meant she was more than likely on a Corp's payroll.

Not all Corps sold products. Some sold services. Security Corps often hired the authorities to patrol high profile events. There were some of these Corps, however, that hired themselves to other Corps to ensure that certain things were left out of police scrutiny while other were examined under a high definition electron microscope. Meaning there was a Corp that wanted the CatEared vidcaster framed for the bombing.

"Fucking dirty fucking cops." The Feline Featured woman hissed as she signed the document. What could she do? She'd been put in a corner with no way out.

"Excellent." Charlotte Sorrowfeld stated as she snapped up the document and headed for the door, "We're a little short staffed at the moment thanks to your bombing antics. You'll have to wait a while before we can transfer you to a cell."

With that, Charlotte and Irina's freedom left the room.

[hr]

London 2056 | London Police Station | Outside Interview Room #23​

Charlotte Sorrowfeld smiled a congratulatory smile to herself after the left the room. CyCorp had paid Gungnir Security Consultants a pretty cred to get this little job done. It bothered the detective a bit that a Corp had paid to frame a woman accused of bombing the Corp's headquarters but she'd long ago learned that it was better not to question the orders that she received. As for the next part, she was to contact the contract's initiator with an update.

To: K.Adler@Cycorp.Co.Uk
From: C.Sorrowfeld@amail.co.uk
Subject: Op Completed
[hr]

Mister Adler,

The contract has been completed. The team that has been sent to retrieve Sienna Rostikova-Cray from the hospital reports success with minimal resistance. Miss Irina Rostikova has confessed to the bombing as you requested.

Gungnir Security Consultants awaits your confirmation.

Signed,

Charlotte Sorrowfeld
Gungnir Security Contultant

 

[Knife-28]

The bulky net-goggles were, like many pieces of tech Kazuko used, daggy and somewhat out of date. Newer models, like the ones the ads infesting Kaz's vision currently showed, were sleeker, smaller, and all but weightless. The familiar weight of his own headset didn't bother him, however. It helped keep him grounded, and helped remind him that the digital world unfolding before his eyes was, in the end, nothing more than a series of ones and zeros.

With last night's episode of 'HACK THE PRANETO!' blaring in his ears, he got to work.

First order of business: Seeing how much he could hawk the footage he had last night for. With a swipe of his prosthetic digits Kazuko pulled up the main page of The Bazaar; the world's largest, anonymous, information marketplace (at least, that's what the homepage said). Everything from company's stock reports, scientific theories, patents and celebrity sex tapes were auctioned off at whatever price the seller saw fit. As Kaz had expected, there was a slew of information on the CyCorp and H.A Dynasty bombings that, real or fake, people were willing to pay top dollar for, considering the prices he saw.

However, he found very little on the double shooting that had taken place earlier in the night. Unsurprisingly, it seemed that the two bombings far eclipsed anything else that had happened the previous night, but still, he had expected something more substantial than copies of police radio chatter thought the night.

Minimizing The Bazaar window, he pulled up his messenger and composed a message to one Adin Kerosta; entrepreneur of a cyberware shop that had suffered an unfortunate break in the previous night, and the man that Kaz had done some incredibly legal work for in the past.

Aidn, 
I heard about what happened to your place last night. If there's anything I can help with just give me a heads up.

Yes, he was fishing for a job, but he was sincere in his offer. Plus it paid to be on the good side of the guy you got your augs from. Finishing off his breakfast, Kaz quickly glanced through his e-mail to see if there were any new messages for him.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

CyCorp Temporary Headquarters - Designation: Site B - Undisclosed Location​

Selene was waiting outside the temporary office for the CEO whilst he finished up a call with the members from the board of directors. It had been rather busy upon her arrival to Site B, as she saw numerous members of staff carrying boxes and setting up equipment whilst she was being escorted; obviously the plan to use the site as an operations base was rather recent and there hadn't been enough time to get things properly in order.

Despite being quickly set up, security was still tight, armed guards were manning the checkpoints, though a couple of them looked as if they could still use a few hours more sleep to be fully effective. Another five minutes had passed before Miss Monroe looked up from her monitor and towards Selene.

"Mr. DeGrasse is ready to see you now Ms. Dumas." Selene approached the door whilst Monroe got up from her desk and opened the door for her. One the other side, Selene could see a roughly square sized room with a few boxes stacked up in the corners and at the rear of the room sat a man who despite being in his early fifties, still looked to be in reasonably good shape. She noticed that he had a cybernetic right hand whilst he was reading a few dossiers, possibly pertaining to the mission. It was only when he looked up that he noticed Selene.

"Ah Ms. Dumas, a pleasure to meet you finally. My name is Nolan DeGrasse. I've heard good things about you, you're a woman who can get the job done with a minimal amount of bloodshed so the folks down at Operations tell me. Apologies for all the mess by the way, Site B was activated only a few hours ago, so there is still a lot of set up work to be done, probably take us a week to get fully settled in. Anyway, take a seat and I'll inform you about this here assignment." Whilst Selene sat down, DeGrasse removed a dossier from a desk draw and placed it in front of him.

"Now then, as you know, last night both the headquarters of CyCorp and H.A. Dynasty were attacked by an as of yet unknown third party. How they managed to get past security to plant the explosives is also an unknown factor at this time; though some have speculated that there was a inside man who helped them out, or that they managed to obtained the guard shift patterns for that day, along with the building's floor-plans. This combined with the double murders/assassination, has lead to something of a media shit-storm, and PR is doing their best to keep things on low key."

"Who would most likely gain from an obvious act of terrorism such as this?" Selene interrupted by asking.

"That Ms. Dumas, is a question with many possible answers. Numerous groups would gain a lot from this. Rival corporations, social activists, groups with strong opinions against cybernetic augmentations, to even simple things like someone or some-people simply having a grudge against us for a past action we have done. The list goes on." DeGrasse paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing.

"Speaking of those harbouring a grudge, that is why I called you in. From the archives, we managed to compose a list of people who have had grudges with us, whether it be in the past or more recently. We'd like you to investigate these persons of interest, and see if they had any connection to last nights events." He then pushed forward the dossier towards Selene, who upon picking it up began looking through the list.

"Any particular requirements?"

"Feel free to use whatever means necessary, if none of the people on there are our bomber, then they might know someone else we haven't considered yet."

"Understood." Was all that Selene could say when saw stopped at one name in particular.

KAZUKO WRIGHT​

Oh Kaz, is this why you were so interested in what I did?

DeGrasse noticed the look on Selene's face and chose to speak up.

"Is something the matter Ms. Dumas?" This acknowledgement brought Selene out of her reverie.

"Oh, sorry about that sir, was just, caught up in the list."

"Indeed. It's not easy running an organization like this, no matter how noble a person's intentions maybe, there is always some people you have to upset or promises to break in order to keep things afloat. That is just how business works sometimes. Anyway, you investigate the people on that list, and get in contact with myself or the secretary out there in you happen to find anything. For the time being, you are dismissed." Selene, after giving a bow towards Mr. DeGrasse headed for the door.

"Oh. One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Try to keep this operation below the radar, we have other people working on similar cases, however they are employing different methods."

"Understood sir. Was there anything else?"

"No need to refer to me as sir all the time, either Mr. DeGrasse is suitable given the relationship between you and CyCorp."

"Understood Mr. DeGrasse." Selene soon left the room.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

~ Karl Adler ~​

By the time Karl had gotten back to his flat, he had felt exhausted in more ways that he cared to admit. Even with the rather refreshing breakfast he had shared with Karine, he was ready to collapse into bed. Which made the fact that the next few days were bound to be as long and packed as the previous night all the more discouraging. As a businessman who normally stayed either behind a desk, or patrolled behind secure observation rooms with various research staff, he simply wasn't used to all-nighters like this.

It was just his luck it happened the same night he started the slow, methodical elimination of the roadblocks to his rise in corporate power.

So, when he closed the door to his flat behind him, he started to peel off his suit with the intention of taking a shower, making a beeline to the master bath and leaving discarded clothes in his wake. If he was lucky, he may have even had the chance for a short nap before wading back into the chaos.

He had only started the water running when he noticed that he had an unread email waiting on him. Resting his forehead against the wall of his shower, he closed his eyes and let the hot water pound on him as he checked it. The subject was suspicious enough, even without the completely unfamiliar sending address. But when he read the bulk of the message, his eyes snapped open.

Spoiler: Secure Email

To: K.Adler@Cycorp.Co.Uk
From: C.Sorrowfeld@amail.co.uk
Subject: Op Completed
[hr]

Mister Adler,

The contract has been completed. The team that has been sent to retrieve Sienna Rostikova-Cray from the hospital reports success with minimal resistance. Miss Irina Rostikova has confessed to the bombing as you requested.

Gungnir Security Consultants awaits your confirmation.

Signed,

Charlotte Sorrowfeld
Gungnir Security Contultant

No. It had to be a mistake, unless... Unless someone had set this up somehow, and decided that he was going to be a fitting scapegoat. If it was a set-up, the only people he could think of that would be reasonably responsible for it would be whoever was behind the bombings themselves. After all, this provided an, admittedly sloppy, culprit for the crime. But what motive would they come up with for Irina Rostikova for bombing both CyCorp and H.A. Dynasty's HQ's? And where did young Sienna enter into all of this?

Knowing his shower had to wait, he turned off the water with a snarl and snatched up a towel, even as he sent a reply.

To: C.Sorrowfeld@amail.co.uk
From: K.Adler@Cycorp.Co.Uk
Subject: RE: Op Completed
[hr]

Miss Sorrowfeld,

I'm afraid I don't recall having hired Gungnir Security Consultants for a contract, but in a position like mine, things like this tend to slip through the cracks. If you could refresh my memory by sending me the initial contact as well as the details of the contract, I would be very much grateful. I'm certain it merely slipped my mind during recent events.

Sincerely,
Karl Adler
General Manager of Research and Development

Once it was sent, he started to hastily dry off. He only hoped that getting his hands on the original contract wouldn't dig him even deeper into the hole that someone was determined he be buried in. And that Karine would not only understand that it wasn't his doing, but help, he added mentally with an external grimace.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

London 2056 | Police Station | Office of Charlotte Sorrowfeld
Deep Holes in the Road Ahead, Caution Recommended​

If there was anything that the Detective despised, it was waiting on those Corp Desk Jockeys. Time was money, or so they said, but with the amount of time that Mister Adler had made Charlotte wait for a response was still just pocket lint to someone who probably wiped his ass with Gold Plated 1,000 Unit Creds. The Detective's terminal chimed as she received a new secured e-mail. Looking at the display, officers having no need for a VR Rig like the boys with toys in the Cyber Crimes Unit, she hesitated in opening it for a moment. Tapping the screen, the opened the mail.

To: C.Sorrowfeld@amail.co.uk
From: K.Adler@Cycorp.Co.Uk
Subject: RE: Op Completed

Miss Sorrowfeld,

I'm afraid I don't recall having hired Gungnir Security Consultants for a contract, but in a position like mine, things like this tend to slip through the cracks. If you could refresh my memory by sending me the initial contact as well as the details of the contract, I would be very much grateful. I'm certain it merely slipped my mind during recent events.

Sincerely,
Karl Adler
General Manager of Research and Development

P.S. How about a face to face at the Foggy Lights Diner @ 1:00 PM. I do enjoy the company those who work under me.

The Detective frowned at the information contained within the letter, most specifically, the forgetfulness of her employer. The contact had been opened not an hour after the bombing of both CyCorp and H.A. Dynasty. But still, if she wanted to get paid for this Operation, she needed to comply with the contract owner's requests, after all 50,000 creds was far from pocket change for someone like Charlotte.

Leaving the mail open, Charlotte opened up a secure VPN connection to the Gungnir network, typing in her login credentials that gave her access to the more secure portions of the Gungnir Network. This allowed her to access the database of contracts that had been assigned to her.

"What... the... hell?" The Detective swore quietly as she checked her opened assignments and found no trace of the contract opened by Mister Adler. This had to be a mistake.

Ramming her fingers into her terminal's interface, Detective Sorrowfeld did a quick query on open contract belonging to Karl Adler.

>>Query Results: 0

This was not good but that would change soon enough to bad, very very bad. She needed to buy herself a little time to figure out what in the hell was going on. Her fingers worked overtime once again as she sent a response to the owner of her contact. Sending it without hesitation before running yet another query, this time a locational query for the young girl that they'd extracted from the hospital.

>>Error:  No Such Subject Exists

Bad, very very bad. That was the nice way of saying that Charlotte was being fucked out of her creds. Someone at Gungnir was fucking her over without consent or benefit of lubricant. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was Karl fucking Adler.

Looking at the location data that had been included with the previous e-mail, Charlotte noted the location in her GPS before heading out the door, intent on confronting the fucking Corp Bastard. Unnoticed by her, the terminal's display started moving once again, recalling the email that was previously sent and deleting it. Words flashed on the screen and another email was sent from Charlotte Sorrowfeld's Amail account.

To: K.Adler@Cycorp.Co.Uk
From: C.Sorrowfeld@amail.co.uk
Subject: RE: RE: Op Completed
Mister Adler,

As per Gungnir's Terms of Service, I am unable to send you a copy of the contract through digital means. All contracts are to be delivered in person. For delivery of the contract, please meet me at the following location and time.

Foggy Lights Diner @ 1:00 PM

Sincerely,

Charlotte Sorrowfeld

============================================================​

To: C.Sorrowfeld@amail.co.uk
From: K.Adler@Cycorp.Co.Uk
Subject: RE: Op Completed

Miss Sorrowfeld,

I'm afraid I don't recall having hired Gungnir Security Consultants for a contract, but in a position like mine, things like this tend to slip through the cracks. If you could refresh my memory by sending me the initial contact as well as the details of the contract, I would be very much grateful. I'm certain it merely slipped my mind during recent events.

Sincerely,
Karl Adler
General Manager of Research and Development

The letter was deleted from the terminal soon after...