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Post by drzaius on Mar 15, 2011 14:03:32 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 05:22 - Canyon & 84th, Tacoma]Impulse does his best to sneak up the 3 flights of stairs to his personal closet, but the wood squeaks loudly underneath his feet from decades of strain. He winces as he continues to tip-toe across the hall and listen against his door, pulling the Ruger from his belt with the intention of clubbing anyone inside who he isn't familiar with. Impulse is listening at the door. Intuition (4) + Perception (2) - Wound Modifier (1) = 5 dice. 5d6.hits(5)=1 hits. He throws open the door, pointing the empty revolver at.. Nothing. Letting out a long sigh of relief, he starts grabbing his shit and throwing it in a bag, while working his commlink. <<#Impulse@Krash: Got burned bad. Cops knew about the meet before I did. Someone talked, I think I'm the only one left. Meet me somewhere, you're the only one I can trust.>>
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 16, 2011 1:40:53 GMT -5
<<Krash @ Impulse>>
<<It's all over the networks, man. It all looks bad. People are saying that LoneStar cleaned house and put cuffs on anyone the Head Takers didn't put in a body bag. There was a shootout at the clubhouse - nobody knows exactly what happened but everybody has a theory. You'd best stay low and try and stay healthy. I'll see what I can do.>>
Within a few minutes, a new commcall comes into Impulse's link.
<<Y3ll0wBan@nas!!1! @ Impulse>>
<<If you know what is good for you, be at the rail yards near SEATAC, off the 181 and 180th street. I'll meet you there, gunfighter.>>
Breathing a sigh of relief, his nickname from Krash sealed it - 'rattlesnake mean and twice as fast' - he was going to get a meet with Krash but the ork didn't want anyone to know about it.
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Post by drzaius on Mar 16, 2011 10:26:49 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 05:38 - Canyon & 84th, Tacoma]
Stuffing some food down his gullet as he packs, Impulse takes a peek out the window and decides he's had enough of the police for one day; waiting for them to clear out and check the clubhouse would give them plenty of time to press one of his friends into saying where his place was.
Shoving everything he owns into a ratty duffel, he locks the door behind him and goes out onto the street, hailing a cab.
Throwing the bag next to him and looking out the rear window to see if anyone is coming, he sighs and gestures forward.
"178th street; and there's 50 more in it for you if this trip never happened."
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 16, 2011 13:26:18 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 06:04 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]
Chattering away in a heavy Hindi accent, the cabbie agrees happily to the deal. Fifty nuyen off the books was like getting two or three fares in the same time as the one. With no reason to argue and no interest in his fare, the cabbie chatters on his commlink the whole ride, Hindi-synth booming.
Arriving at his destination, Impulse can see the railyards ahead. The sun is casting long shadows along the ground, back lighting the container cars. Looks just like some Western Cowboy trid from back in the day.
Far from abandoned, the yard teems with activity - drones load and offload goods from cars and, here and there, meat-bodies help. Orks and trolls mostly. Impulse notices a few local gang signs, but the area is dominated by Tacoma chapter AROs of the Ork Underground.
<<Y3ll0wBan@nas!!1! @ Impulse>>
<<I can see ya, gunfighter. I am in the main office ahead of you, in a stock room to the right once you go in. Don't worry about nothing. This is my turf.>>
Sighing, Impulse follows the instructions. I am going to be cornered like a rat for the second time tonight... er... morning... whatever. Not like I have a choice.
The stock room is largely empty, a few pallets of boxed goods - consumer-crap mostly - stacked against a wall. Sitting on a recessed window sill, above an old radiator, is Krash. Staring straight and unwavering at him, Impulse can tell he is being sized up.
A moment passes before the ork speaks. 'Hey, padre. Glad to see you still have a pulse. What the fuck happened out there?'
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Post by drzaius on Mar 17, 2011 9:49:41 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 06:04 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]Hand shaking as the cram starts to work it's way out of his system, Impulse paces back and forth across the room. "It was an ambush man. Someone talked, either from our side or theirs. All I know is I'm getting set up to take the fall. What the hell would you think, if you were the only guy to make it out of there? My ass would be in lockup too, if I hadn't called in a favor. So now everyone is either dead or in jail, I can't go back to my place, and everything I own is in this bag." He clutches the bag of his possessions tightly, pausing a moment to breath. "I need help man. You've known me for forever. I need a place to lay low, and make some cred. That favor I called in wasn't cheap, and the juice is running on me. It doesn't do me any good to be free this month only to have someone take me out next." Charisma (4) + Negotiations (2) + Loyalty (4) - Wound Modifier (1) = 9 dice. 9d6.hits(5)=1 hits.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 17, 2011 11:32:48 GMT -5
Eying Impulse cooly, Krash nods slowly. 'You are right about not going home. I heard LoneStar is still looking for Blood Eagles members - you included - and everybody who knows anything is really curious about how you managed to get out of there alive.'
Sighing, Krash hops down from the ledge and stuffs a hand in his pocket. 'Fucking makes perfect sense though... Leave some dumb ork to take the fall, a trog nobody cares about and any jury would happily convict. Somebody with just enough of a rap sheet and just the right look about them - your look, gunfighter.' Krash cracks a wise grin.
'Fuck 'em.'
Producing a commlink from his pocket, Krash underhands it to Impulse. 'That is a clean burner, omae. I put a cool grand on it for you and it has a clean SIN, too.' Walking towards Impulse he puts a hand on his shoulder, looking him over and scowling. 'Shit, omae, you are about to come down, aren't you?' Sighing and turning back towards the window, he continues to address Impulse as he returns to the sill and leans. 'Well, curl up here for a bit till the shakes pass and maybe get some sleep. You look like hell warmed over. The 'link will keep you with a bit of walking around money and will let you get around the city; just don't go walking into some ritzy neighborhood or whatever and expect things to work out.'
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Post by drzaius on Mar 17, 2011 12:11:00 GMT -5
"Thanks man, I really owe you."
Impulse collapses onto a shipping crate, shaking his head.
"We gotta find the guys who set us up; somebody has to pay for this."
He cracks his neck, and kneads his lower back, still sore from getting shot half a dozen times just a few hours ago.
"It's got to be one of the Head-takers; I gotta go in there and mess those fuckers up."
He sighs, shaking his head.
"I need some work first; I gotta pay you back and get this debt off my back."
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 17, 2011 12:17:47 GMT -5
Krash chuckles a bit and nods. 'Who the fuck knows who it was, omae... But it probably wouldn't be wise for you to make too much noise around the Head Takers right around now. The Star would be all over you in a heartbeat, presuming that your coked out ass could even survive a rumble with them all by your lonesome.'
Smiling, he continues, 'You really are meaner than a rattlesnake.'
'I'll look around and see if I can't find some work for you. The Underground is always in need of help, but the cred isn't as good as you can find elsewhere... But you get what you get, so ka?'
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 17, 2011 16:00:46 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 06:09 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]
After exchanging parting words, Krash heads on out, giving Impulse a strong clap on the shoulder and telling him to 'stay breathing.'
Finding a nice, not-so-quiet corner to curl up behind some boxes, Impulse falls into a heavy sleep of the dead, his Ruger clutched in one hand. The concrete was cold, the room a little dank and there was plenty of light coming in from the windows, for dawn had fully bloomed... but it didn't matter. The cram was wearing off and the crash was coming on hard like a freight train. Within a few minutes of mind-racing twitching, Impulse leaned over, vomited, and was soon passed out.
[8 March 2069, 14:31 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]
Impulse wakes groggily to an automated pallet mover whining into the room, a bored looking human piloting it. One of the walls to his little apartment was getting carried off to the railyard proper. Giving Impulse one glance and taking in the giant revolver, the human just gave a whistle, doffed his hard hat, and rode the lift out of the room as silently as he came.
Stretching and cracking his back, Impulse could feel the long day and night he'd had before. His bones ached, his head throbbed a bit, but... all things told, he felt great. Alive and with a pulse is better than not, right?
Standing on the loading dock, looking out over the city, Impulse has the day before him.
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Post by drzaius on Mar 17, 2011 16:09:32 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 14:31 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]
Impulse wheels through is new commlink, and sends out a few messages to try and scare up some work and get his ass out of debt.
<<Impulse@Lenny>>
<<Lenny! You old so-and-so. You old horse thief. How are you doing? I know you aren't believing anything you're seeing about me on the news...>>
<<Impulse@Krash>>
<<Hey man, thanks for trusting me. Know I don't have a lot of options left these days. Let me know if there's anything you need an extra guy on over the next few days, and I'm your man.>>
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 18, 2011 15:06:41 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 14:33 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]
<<Lenny @ Impulse>>
<<I heard a few things on my end, but I don't believe any of it. Listen, kid, I can help you. We should meet and talk - you probably could use some gear, maybe a new SIN. Meet me in a couple of hours - say 1900 - at Point Defiance park in Tacoma.>>
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 18, 2011 15:16:00 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 14:31 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]
An incoming message is decrypted and the original sender, Yellow Bananas, is switched to Krash on Impulse's link.
<<Krash @ Impulse>>
<<Don't worry about it, omae. I have a buy going down tomorrow night that I could use a bit of muscle on - work that for me and we'll call it even for the new link and SIN. Stay healthy.>>
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Post by drzaius on Mar 18, 2011 15:27:07 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 14:33 - SEATAC Railyards, Tacoma]
Impulse reads through the two messages, and decides to reply to Krash's first.
<<Impluse@Krash>>
<<Thanks man. I'll try to stay upright until then.>>
Next he re-reads the message from Lenny, the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
The only time Lenny was nice was when he was sure you were the one who was going to get fucked.
<<Impulse@Lenny>>
<<Cool. Cya then.>>
Arming himself to the teeth and keeping a popper of kamikaze and cram in his pocket, Impulse sets off for the meet with Lenny, anticipating the fence had come up with an elaborate scheme to screw him over.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 21, 2011 12:50:52 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:37 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Planning his route, Impulse realizes he will have to hop a subway line to another line, then taking the transfer onto a bus, mixing in with John Q. Public the whole way. Walking down the tile walled steps into the subway, his heart quickens. There are cameras everywhere and a few rent-a-cops stand lazily near a security kiosk. Passing his commlink over the ticket purchase stand, a green light flashes accompanied by a pleasant chime.
<<"Thank you for traveling Tacoma Transit Rail!">>
A sigh of relief passes, Impulse realizes that the SIN Krash had passed along was standing up to the test of public transit.
The subway meanders through Tacoma, headed out of the industrial rail district and into the more posh section of town near the Tacoma Mall. Patrons change from blue collar types to white, more young kids covered in nanotats and sporting obnoxious, personalized fashion AROs, wild haircuts, all talking about who is fucking who. Eventually, the subway spits Impulse out a few kilometers from the park and, after a couple of bus rides, he steps off in front of the park gates.
The park gates are antiquated, dated from probably the 20th century. Beyond them, a small security checkpoint looms: turn styles and a few guards fighting off ennui. Beyond that, families wander this way and that on the paths, the lush green park turning dimmer in the setting sun.
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Post by drzaius on Mar 21, 2011 14:27:03 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:37 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Clutching his jacket close to hide the giant pistol hidden underneath, Impulse nonchalantly meanders past the sleepy guards and into the park, his eyes looking for any sort of ambush.
Aware that if he was going to get screwed, a park without any road access and only one way out would be the place to meet, Impulse is on his guard as he approaches where Lenny said to wait.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 22, 2011 15:39:00 GMT -5
Clearing the turnstyles, Impulse can feel the hard stares from the security guards. Their looks meant 'we are watching you, shitberg.
Taking the next few meters in stride, Impulse heads off into the interior of the park. It is only a few steps before he can tell at least one of the guards is following him.
'Excuse me, sir. SIR. Sir.'
The edge in the guard's voice makes it clear: this is no place for an ork such as himself, looking so rough.
'Sir. Could you please follow me a moment?'
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Post by drzaius on Mar 22, 2011 15:48:13 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:37 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]Spreading his hands wide, Impulse appeals to the Guard's better nature. "Hey man, cut me some slack; it's my week to get the kid, I'm late so I didn't have time to change from work, and her Mom is already gonna be pissed. If I don't hurry the zoo'll close and we won't get to see the lions. She loves the lions man." Impulse is lying his ass off. Charisma 4 + Con 2 = 6 dice. 4d6.hits(5)=2 hits.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 23, 2011 11:55:10 GMT -5
'Yes, sir. You can go see your daughter in just a moment. Please come with me, sir. Sir. Come with me.' Impulse studies the guard approaching him, gauging the effect of his story. Well that fell flat... He can see the guard approaching him calmly, but with a firm set face, one hand on his taser and the other holding a hand scanner out towards Impulse. |
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Post by drzaius on Mar 24, 2011 9:49:55 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:37 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating, Impulse decides to go with plan B.
"You know what? You're an asshole. I can see this park isn't for Orks. We aren't welcome here."
He makes sure to give a significant glance to the white couple nearby gawking.
With that, Impulse storms off in a huff towards the exit, and out of the park.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 24, 2011 10:03:47 GMT -5
Seeing the large ork in a huff, the guard pulls his taser and is not quite sure if he should advance or back away.
'Everybody stand back! Calm down sir! SIR! CALM DOWN! DO NOT MAKE THREATENING GESTURES!'
While the guard is busy debating between posturing, wetting himself and tasering him, Impulse clears the turnstiles and is back on the main road.
Within a few hundred meters, and off the sidewalk and down a dirt path, Impulse finds a section of fence relatively lonely. Topping it, however, is some barbed wire.
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Post by drzaius on Mar 24, 2011 15:01:25 GMT -5
Peeking around for any security cameras quickly, Impulse shimmies up the fence and *SNIPS* the barbed wire, folding it back and hooking it onto itself so he can sneak back out the same way.
Making a mental note to thank Lenny for the easy meet, Impulse drops down onto the other side of the fence, and proceeds to meander into the park like he owns the place, looking for the location of the meet quickly.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 25, 2011 13:46:33 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:45 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Impulse meanders through the park, noting all the wage-slaves and their families cantering about hither and yon, taking in the twilight and green and vat-grown animals. Beyond the park, back towards the steel and glass towers, the Sprawl hummed on and on, but here, the hum was light and low, a sound so slight that it quickly grew familiar like the refrigerator compressor in your apartment.
Nearing the end of the park, the Puget Sound loomed and across the horizon, the hills of Washington state rising against the red-orange sky.
Lenny was sitting on a bench, facing the park, and seeing Impulse gave a wave.
'You are late,' he said quickly, his eyes darting about. 'So, how are things? Hows the family? The kids? All that shit.'
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Post by drzaius on Mar 25, 2011 14:17:31 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:45 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Ignoring the small talk, Impulse grits his teeth and let's Lenny know how he feels about the situation.
"My comm has me 15 minutes early. You sure you don't want to meet someplace safer, let's say the Ritz downtown or Police Plaza? What's the matter Lenny, you don't feel safe around me?"
Looking around, Impulse lets out a deep sigh.
"It's a sad state of affairs that you're one of the few people I trust anymore. You got anything that needs gettin' done soon? I'm pressed for 'yen, and I know you've always got something in the hopper."
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 25, 2011 17:57:18 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:49 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Lenny cracks a grin at the slight, taking it in stride. 'Look, kid, I don't have any work for you right now. Busy, busy, though. A few things in the hopper. I'll let you know if I find anything. Do you need anything in particular? Fresh SIN? New guns? A clean commlink? Some licenses? Whatever you need, Lenny gets!'
Lenny leads off into a somewhat longwinded ditty about how he knows that 'a young kid like you' can 'get in over their head', and that a good fixer can always help. After several minutes, Lenny is repeating himself a bit.
Lenny shifts his weight from side to side, his eyes never keeping still. 'I figured that, after all of that mess, you'd be needing some extra amenities. So what happened, anyhow? A lot of people are really curious and a few are looking for you.'
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Post by drzaius on Mar 25, 2011 21:01:21 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:49 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
"Well, I still have a few friends out there who trust me, so I'm set on gear for the moment. Could use a ride, but that's a pretty big favor to ask."
Impulse looks Lenny over, grinning.
"As for what happened; it's the same old story it always is- everything went south, and fast. The only reason I got out of there is because I know the kind of people who can get you out of that trouble, so long as you don't mind dealing with the devil." "
He looks over the water, eyes darting back and forth looking for the trap.
"That's why I'm so desperate for work; my ass is on the line for a big price at the end of the month, and the clock is ticking. As far as I can tell though, someone talked, and I can only imagine everyone thinks it's me because my ass got out of there with just a few broken bones instead of in a body bag."
He shrugs.
"Been looking for a new line of business anyways. No way I can go back to that now; I wouldn't trust anyone like me after that. You can't."
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 25, 2011 21:03:40 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:49 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Standing, Lenny nods. 'Well, kid, I'll keep looking for work for you. I'll see what I can do about the ride.'
At that, he walks off.
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Post by drzaius on Mar 25, 2011 21:06:20 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 16:49 - Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Impulse watches Lenny walk off, waiting until he's out of sight.
Still not sure I can trust that one...
Before heading back to the bus stop, he stops by the Lion cage and looks at them lounging about for a few minutes. He would stay longer, but the lions look depressed, trapped in a cage instead of out in the wild.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 25, 2011 21:14:13 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 17:11 - Fence line, Point Defiance Park, Tacoma]
Impulse hops the fence easily, having already cut back the barbed wire. As he re-enters the main road, he can see several LoneStar cruisers, lights flashing, parked near the gate. LoneStar officers are swarming the area, weapons drawn.
Hiking up his collar, he makes an about face, and trots off away from the scene.
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Post by drzaius on Mar 25, 2011 21:38:21 GMT -5
[8 March 2069, 17:11 - Tacoma]
Impulse gets out of there wondering if the rent a cops would raise such a fuss over one problem customer.
Rich people man, who knows...
Once clear of the mess, Impulse rides the bus back to Tacoma and hits a few bars, getting tipsier than he could probably afford.
Once it's late, he crashes back at the warehouse and waits for the dock workers to wake him in the morning.
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Post by NoOnesShowMonkey on Mar 28, 2011 11:32:49 GMT -5
[9 March 2069, 06:04 - SEATAC Railyards, Storeroom, Tacoma]
Impulse wakes to the usual hum and bustle around him, pallets getting picked up with lifts, the electric whine and clunk, a few scattered bits of conversation. His head is pounding in that thick-tongued, too-much-Junichi-Synthabeer way.
Sitting up and heading outside to the loading dock, Impulse fumbles through his pockets looking for wherever he stashed his lighter. Finding everything, his weapons, commlink and other possibles, still in his pockets, he breaths a sigh of relief as he lights up a cancer stick. At least I haven't been robbed... again...
Cracking his back, Impulse sets out to wander the grounds a bit. No one pays him any particular mind, and he can see that the vast majority of the workers are orks like himself. Many, furthermore, sport iconic Ork Underground tattoos. The most he gets is a wink or a nod, a touching of the side of a nose, a few quick handsignals that all mean 'you're ok my be, omae.'
[9 March 2069, 07:14 - SEATAC Railyards, Main Loading Docks, Tacoma]
Having become bored with wandering, Impulse sees a crew of orks unloading a large container full of consumer goods - each lifting out box after box to load onto a drone hauler. Wordlessly, he wanders over and starts to carry a few boxes, the crew noting his help with a few curt nods.
Then, his commlink starts to chirp. It's Krash. Plopping his box down on a pile, Impulse makes eye contact with the crew leader and, with a slight tilt of his head, the thick, older, graying laborer wordlessly says 'we got it from here on, omae.'
<<Krash @ Impulse>>
<<'Still breathing, eh? I got some word on that job I was talking to you about. It's a rush - coming down tonight. Want to meet me at Diner 54 in twenty or thirty for some breakfast?'>>
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