”This has been a remarkable encounter.” Gin says, tucking the little card into his pocket. ”I came to you with what I though was a proposal to help a lost soul and make a few quick cred in the process. It is clear that I mistook you for something that you are not and that I badly misread the situation. I am humbled at the lesson the universe has seen fit to teach me this evening.” he continues returning your gesture with a respectful bow of his own head.

”I think we have much to discuss, Midori. I’m think there is promise of a fulfilling figure together, but this is not the place and I think that I am too drunk for this to be the time.” he adds, slugging back more whiskey. His hand then falls below the table coming to rest high up on the leather clad thigh that is still pressing into his leg. ”We find ourselves at a cross roads,” he continues with a playful squeeze of his hand against your leather and the firmness of your thigh, ”There is a promise down every path and I am game for any or all of them, as long as you are. And if you are not, he continues, removing his hand and setting it back in the table, ”then I am content. Our minds are as one, even if we decide that our bodies need not be. I will look forward to meeting another time and discuss other ways our relationship can be mutually beneficial.”

Midori's poker face was something of legend - she kept her eyes on Gin even as his hand slid to the soft, calfskin leather of the leggings she wore while on the bike.

"On the contrary, Gin-san, you have helped a lost soul and may have more to offer in the future," Midori purred, comforting the man that his brave approach had not been in vain. Midori knew that anathema to ego was embarrassment and she wouldn't let the Yak leave without giving him the distinct possibility that there was a delightful future in store regardless of the nature of it.

Midori took Gin's hand and traced his large fingertips with her own soft hands, showing him that while the physical affection wasn't unwelcome, the timing wasn't right. She looked into his eyes with a subtle smile.

"Gin-san honours me, but as you say, you are too drunk for this to be the time," she replied, a subtle implication that were there to be further physical interaction in their future, it would be done when they might both benefit from the experience. "I do not doubt your expertise, but I came to the club with a specific need in mind - one that will remains unfulfilled. We shall speak soon, under more favourable circumstances," Midori promised him, leaning forward to offer an incredibly brave and almost stupid, yet chaste, kiss on his cheek. The kiss could be interpreted in many different ways, but it was clear there was an undercurrent of respect and affection - she wouldn't let Gin leave the table feeling like a loser, which meant he had to be the one to leave her side.

"I promise you will be content whatever the future holds, Gin-san. I hope your evening brings you everything you desire."

Whenever Gin-san removed himself from the table, or gestured she should leave, Midori would leave the rest of her drink where it was and scan the club for any last-minute opportunities before hitting the streets of the district once more. The night was young and Midori had plenty of opportunities to bring her in contact with a lead that might set her on Mio's tail, no matter how unlikely. Midori knew that the trick was to keep an open mind.

”A promise? Not one that I will hold you to, but if you decide to keep it, I will willingly accept.” he replies with the lazy grace of a well fed tiger. A man in Gin’s position is not often rejected. In a way it was a refreshing feeling that eliminated any lingering suspicion that his beautiful new acquaintance would use her body to curry favour with a powerful man.

”I hope you find whatever you came in here looking for. Whether it is another who looks like you for your business venture, or whatever else you seek tonight.” he says, standing and kissing your hand. A regal flourish. ”I will be in touch.”

Gin disappears into the crowd and possibly into the arms of one of the many pretty little things that would have lined up for the chance that you just deferred to another time. The crowd goes on, like a living thing, without noticing. The same crowds, here or somewhere else, throbbing and moving, leaving Mio innocent and unnoticed in the ‘plex.

There are the other two big clubs  of the Broadway Avenue Red Light District (Redtail’s and Capones), there are the leads from the chip (the neighbourhood, the health club and the boyfriend) and there are your party girl friends that you left hanging waiting for your marked up Bliss… where are you going?

"A promise," Midori confirmed with a soft smile. "I am confident I will see you content at least once while I know you." Midori might flirt to get places in life, but her body and access to it was carefully guarded - she hated to mix business and pleasure. That was how most Faces got caught out - they trusted the wrong people, they let their heart make decisions instead of their head. Midori had learned the lesson when Jun got killed and had hardened her heart to protect it from the traps that were unique to a Face.

Most Shadowrunners could go in, guns blazing or stealthy as the night and either kill or avoid everyone who would prevent them from reaching their target, but Faces rode in limos with those very people, shared drinks and sometimes even went deep undercover as a spouse, a new secretary, a nurse or whatever was needed to get the job done. Their lives were dangerous because every word that escaped their lips was being watched and listened to, their minds directories of important people and places. Surveillance was common in the 'plex, but unless you were focused upon it was mostly population-level stuff for crime. Faces were targeted because crime and business passed their way like a stream through a valley.

As Midori's hand was kissed, she offered her bowed head in return, squeezing his hand slightly with hers to confirm their pact. A new Yak friend was a result for the evening, though not for Mio's run and that was what Midori was most concerned about.

Midori would have to hit the club to give the girls their Bliss first, they'd want it early in the evening and likely would resell once again to their customers, or take a hit before going on stage. Midori walked back to her Mirage and, looking about to see if there was any surveillance watching her, she would pop the pannier open when she could be reasonably certain nobody was going to rob her, at least. She look a few doses out and tried to avoid the craving to take one. She might be a Bliss junkie, but she was a functional Bliss junkie, after all.

Plus, going to that club would give her the opportunity to speak with the bouncers, whom she had a friendly relationship with. Something about the massive, imposing figures in the doorway taking care of a bunch of half-naked women tickled her as they were fairly courteous and deferential despite their hulking strength. If nothing else, it would lift her mood to see some old friends and she could ask for the news from the street from people she trusted.

Midori walked along the street, swinging her hips as though she was just out for a good time and perhaps looking for someone to go home with. Let them stare at her pointed ears or the way her heritage revealed itself in her features, she could hardly care. A good Face wanted to be noticed, and Midori sincerely hoped that being noticed would bring her closer to Mio, even through the subtle notoriety that such pageantry brought.

Taking an extra spin around the busy block helps ensure that any tail you may have picked up or any technology being used for surveillance should be exposed. Unless of course there is a high altitude drone or satellite up there watching you, but at least that kind of tech can’t follow you inside Crazy Horse.

After the last big shaker, the original Tenderloin location fell into dust and the new location opened up ‘off Broadway’ as the locals derisively put it.  A few streets back from Broadway, the tourist friendly red light district starts to give way to the seedy underbelly of Chinatown. Crazy Horse is the gateway between the two. The large likeness of the infamous Sioux warrior seems to warn off those who would unwarily cross between these two worlds.

Inside Crazy Horse is awash with purple neon and red lasers. The matching set of Charity and Chastity grace the main stage, one currently being very charitable and the other not being very chaste at all. Little data terms cheerily gobble up the cred being beamed their way as tip notes scroll past in augmented reality, crowd sourcing the directorial talents of the club’s patrons to create the girls’ show.

That means your friends will still be out on the floor hustling or backstage waiting for their next performance.

At the backstage entrance and interspersed around the stage, there are mountains of vat grown, stem cell enhanced or chemically augmented meat. Most of the guys cultivate an aggressive look; shaved skulls, colorful mohawks, glowing eyes and all manner of brands and tattoos. A couple of them are just big puppy dogs. They look tough and will tear the arms off a patron who gets to handsy without paying first or too rough with a girl who prefers the softer stuff, but deep down they are the sweetest guys, really.

Operating in the 'plex, Midori knows that she cannot ever be sure of not being surveilled, particularly with most business buildings having security systems worth tens to hundreds of times what she made on a good run.

Still, there was something to be said about ensuring a lack of tails or goons that would just as easy make a quick Nuyen on what they thought was an easy target. Midori couldn't risk being injured in a fight and street criminals rarely fought fair - one on one, or if she had the drop on someone she was guaranteed a fighting chance, but those same calculations were being made by the other side.

Midori felt at home in places like this: everyone had a clearly defined role and behaviours that were permitted, even if it wasn't for the most acceptable purposes. The blinking neon illuminated her skin and made her shirt shimmer, noticeable because of the movement and the fine body occupying it.

Midori glanced at the stage, seeing Charity and Chastity and, true to her nature, tipped the women a modest amount as their business was good for her business, after all. She knew if she lingered too long on the floor she might risk being mistaken for a working girl - not that she'd be insulted, these girls worked hard for the creds, but she had business tonight and didn't want to fend off the advances of drunken patrons.

Midori typed a little message into her phone and explained she'd be backstage in a few minutes for anyone who wanted what she'd mentioned earlier. She tended to be careful with her messages, minimising the times she mentioned what, or even if, she was selling.

Midori was keeping her eyes out for one of her oldest friends in particular, V1XN, a tall white woman with powder pink hair and the best rack this side of the divide between Chinatown and the rest of the world. Like Midori, she was a Face, working the Crazy Horse as a cover for her role as the combination of pretty women and liberal application of alcohol and other illicit substances loosened the lips of many of the patrons. She worked as 'Fawn' at the club, so Midori sidled up to one of the vatjob bouncers she knew and liked quite well, offering a bright smile.

"Hey Tiger," she greeted him playfully, using an affectionate nickname as she craned her neck to look upwards into his eyes. "How's tricks? Is Fawn in tonight? I'd like to speak to her if she is, but if not I'm just gonna head backstage to drop some stuff off." Midori explained her plans quite honestly, knowing that V1XN wouldn't work somewhere where the bouncers endangered her true occupation. Normally she'd be more friendly and ask about family, girlfriends and the like but she knew that the bouncer was on duty and respected that he wouldn't want distractions.

Midori was generally welcome backstage at the Crazy Horse as she didn't abuse the privilege and the girls preferred discreet drop-offs while at work for the convenience and secrecy of their habits. Bliss was a fairly benign substance compared to some of the milspec chems, but some of the women still had families they wanted to protect from this side of their lives. Still, she awaited the official permission of the bouncer so he knew where she was and that she wasn't screwing up any plans she wasn't privy to. After all, if the ladies were entertaining a true VIP - one who didn't pay for the 'VIP experience' in the VIP section but had access to most if not all parts of the club, Midori marching in with an armful of drugs would be seen as an unwelcome disruption.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:57, Tue 14 Nov 2023.

The bouncer gives you a withering look, mean mugging before bursting into a wide and playful grin that shows off a mouthful of stainless steel teeth.  ”Aww, I’m playing’ wit’ ya Mido.  Been a minute since we seen ya, the girls been gettin’ antsy,” he said. ”They’ll be glad you came by to drop stuff off.”

The fact that you are almost always holding was becoming one of the worst kept secrets in the ‘plex, but it was a fact that could work in your favour. On the streets razors, dealers and joygirls enjoyed unfettered access to the myriad of back rooms and dark corners where deals were made. Besides, it played into the well defined roles that made you feel so comfortable in places like this. It left folks thinking they knew what you were about. In their minds it was easy to see how the math added up; pretty girl, hustles a bit of Bliss on the side so she can stay off her back, otherwise harmless. Little did they know that this was just one facet of the gemstone that was the many faces of Midori.

Backstage the girls are in all manner of undress. Leather, lace, chain mail, feathers and faux fur are scattered across every surface while the girls share makeup and drinks are flowing. A low but light cloud of smoke and vapor hangs in the air, while someone from the production team calls out the next main stage acts, giving backstage an atmosphere halfway between busy operations centre and college dorm room party.

You catch a glimpse of powder pink that is followed by a squeal of delight as V1XN calls out to you. ”Get. Over. Here. Now. Girl.” she says augmenting each word with a hand clap and a healthy bounce. ”You’re just in time. Sinamon and I go on in five.”

"Hey, pretty girl," Midori smiled, kind of glad her street cred was reaching a point where it spoke for itself. That was all any good Face wanted - a story believable enough if acted as a seamless cover without causing obstruction to business. Midori enjoyed the view and set out half of the Bliss cartridges she had total on the table.

"All right girls, pay up. None of this 'I had a slow night' stuff," Midori barked, teasing them in much the way that the vatjob had teased her - gruff friendliness borne of familiarity and trust.

"Any of you pretty ladies seen another elf that looks like me that's new around here? I need the word on the street, girls, and any rumours you can bring me. You know I'll take care of you," Midori told them, which was mostly true. The girls spoke among themselves and often worked at more than one club. While some would undoubtedly be on the take for competitors, Midori's job wasn't the sort that would have competitors unless the Mister Johnson that hired her had arranged them directly, and that would be unhelpful when looking to rescue a family member who has a risk of going to ground.

"You're looking good, V1XN, I see I'm in for a treat tonight if it's you and Sinamon on next. You got time to chat after or you booked solid tonight?" Midori asked, knowing V1XN might be in important meetings in her private room all night, it was like a separate VIP area she was allowed to keep for her business because the clientele who asked for her paid handsomely for the privilege of her audience, much less a run.

The cred starts to flow and your precious cargo gets gobbled up by several of the ladies of Crazy Horse. The hits off vapes begin immediately, but the girls know the score and have the little pleasure delivery machines set to give half hits. The night is still young and there is work to be done.

”Shows are only for paying customers,” V1XN teases.

”And the friends and family rate is double the regular rate,” Sinamon chimes in, taking one of the little vaporizers off your hands.

”Why you looking for another elf girl, Mido?” V1XN asks, reaching behind her back to clip together fussy little clasps. ”They just did a new ‘Elf Girls Gone Wild’ over at the old Berkeley campus. Too much competition.” she adds with a snarky smile. ”But we’ll keep an eye out for any info. Elf girl. Pretty. Japanese. Can’t be many of them in the ‘plex. You try Tenderloin? Girl got a name?” she adds with another laugh. She’s busting your chops a bit, locker room humor, but you can count on V1XN and the girls to watch out for one of their own in trouble.

”We can talk after the show,” she adds, being hustled out into the stage. ”And don’t forget to tip. If the crowd is slow maybe get something going with some seed money?”

”Ain’t no crowd gonna be slow when they see this,” Sinamon says, bending deep and gyrating her ample hips. Somehow you know she’s right…

Midori smirks and seems satisfied once the creds are paid up in full, though the scent of Bliss in the air gives her a thrill and a desire to go home and finish the investigation another evening, but she knows she can't do that with this type of case. She was going to be up for the next twenty four hours minimum trying to cast hooks and get leads from those in her network. They took time to come back to her and she would rest while she waited for them.

"You girls break my heart, as if I'd ever leave you wanting," Midori's tone is flirtatious and it isn't certain whether she's talking about Bliss, tips or something else entirely.

"I'm still trying places tonight," Midori admitted to V1XN, letting her know subtly that this wasn't just any pretty elf girl she was looking for, but a special pretty elf girl. "She might have a name, but I'll talk to you after. Don't want you having to think about other girls while on stage with the delightful Sinamon." Midori spoke with a smile as she watched Sinamon gyrate her hips, and she popped over a small tip as a joke with a wink to the gorgeous pair.

"It's not gonna be a slow crowd, but you know I'll be there on Perv Row, making it rain," Midori grinned, collecting up anything that remained unsold (not that it was likely there was much, if anything, to take back) and blowing all of the girls affectionate, platonic kisses before leaving, giving her vatjob friend a wide grin and a nod while she took a seat in the front row for the show, which had the dubious honour of being called Perv Row in most clubs. Midori wasn't there for the show, as such, but it helped that people thought she was and she knew that spreading creds around places like this in the form of tips and drink rounds went a long way to keeping her memorable in the eyes of the staff.

Midori would watch the show, tipping along with the rest of the hungry audience, and then she'd get up and unobtrusively make her way towards V1XN's VIP room, nodding to the security she met along the way and watching the crowd out of her peripheral vision. She was primarily watching for Mio and anyone who might be watching herself a little too closely. She seemed paranoid, but as the saying went: when you're right, paranoia is just good thinking.

The front row vibe is a strange one. It’s a mix of sad little men spending every spare cred, and probably some that aren’t spare at all, just for the chance that one of the girls will pay them the slightest attention. Among these pathetic specimens are a number of players. Like sprinkles in ice cream, they are few and far between, but they have the cred and it flows from them like water. Spreading a few cred around along with the front row ballers is therefore a matter of personal and professional pride. Any perception that you could be lumped in with the other occupants of this choice real estate is incomprehensible.

As it turns out, Sinamon was spot on. The crowd isn’t slow at all and the tip counter chimes steadily as lewd suggestions float across the stage in augmented reality. Fawn and Sinamon seize upon a couple of the spiciest ideas and spend the full seven-minute trip hop remix of Puta twisted together in a sweaty embrace.

After the set, you find V1XN towelling off in her private champagne room.  ”Glad you stopped by tonight girl. I’ve got paydata to sell if you are looking for some good street-level intel.”

"Arctic. The only thing finer than your ass is your intel, Miss Vix," Midori was genuinely pleased, though the second thing she said was an inside joke that V1XN would recognise:

Apparently, a Shadowrunner particularly enamoured with V1XN for the more revealing part of her act was pleased to find out that she was equally good as a Face; Vix and Midori used the saying as a phrase to mean the other one had done particularly well in that part of their game.

"Gimme everything you'll sell me for half of whatever I made from the girls. Mate's rates for both of us, right? A deal at twice the price, was it?" Midori was teasing using Sinamon's earlier joke.

"After that tasting platter, I'll see what I can afford for the main course." Midori was referring to more nuyen for more detail on the tips, so Midori could choose from what interested her without Vix giving up too much detail, first. For instance, a tip that said something like "elf meets in parking lot on the Coast Highway with go-gang", she might not need to pay for more information because she resembled that remark, so to speak.

"Why don't you move to a better club, Vix? Girls like you and Sin don't belong getting drooled over by suits and razorboys. What if I could get you in with the Mums? Respectable work for respectable clients, you know." Midori was showing her true hustler nature here, she didn't even work for the Mums officially, but she had a feeling if she went to Gin with the likes of Vix and Sin, they'd both profit tremendously, Midori would get an inner ear on the Mums and Gin would be on his way to being taken more seriously, especially if he took Midori with him.

Midori was thinking a good few steps ahead in this game, and she was about to deliver a critical blow to those who opposed her career: the almost-famous Midori, known and trusted within the region, blessedly Japanese enough to deter too much lawmaker interest from either country, was willing to declare for an organisation and was entering the fray backing a dark horse.

It was time, this was Midori's all-or-nothing shot. Would she convince Vix and Sin that work in the soaphouses for Gin would make them richer than they could ever imagine, and would Gin let the girls work under those terms, selling both information to the Mums and using their bathhouses as sites of operation? She believed he might and they certainly weren't the type to bite the hand that fed them. This could be a match made in heaven for everyone involved, especially the club owner for the place where Vix currently worked if an influx of Black Mums became club patrons.

But it was a crazy risk. Was Midori about to crash and burn? A Face only got one chance like this in her career, where she felt like all the stars aligned, but it working itself out was another matter entirely. If this worked out, she could finish Mio's case like the cherry on top of a very illustrious career sundae and move forward to something far lower-risk than Shadowrunning. She might even get the chance to talk to her parents again, they'd approve of a Japanese boyfriend, especially if he was going places. If they were going places.

V1XN readily agrees to the terms of your deal, exchanging half the take from your Bliss sales for her paydata. She explains that one of her clients got a little overzealous with the soju and let slip that Kwonsham is hiring runners to infiltrate their unions and assist with strike breaking out in Daly City at one of their manufacturing sites. The thing about Kwonsham is that they are tied to the Seoulpa Rings and therefore represent a threat to the more patriotic criminal institutions of Nippon. V1XN's data is worth the cred you pay for it. Both Jimmy and his Ronin or Gin and the Black Mums could profit from knowing about this.

Taking a chance, you begin to lay out your pitch for the girls to leave Crazy Horse. You know this will be a controversial topic. Crazy Horse treats the girls as well as anywhere, and the Black Mums are an unknown commodity. You can sense the immediate hesitation from V1XN when you bring up the matter and you can hear her uncertainty when she voices her opinion, "I like the sound of respectable, but we're set up here and leaving might cause bad blood. That kind of thing is bad for biz." she expalined. "On top of that, I've got my shadowbiz running out of here and I'd need to be sure the Yaks would support my side projects. I make a lot of cred peddling paydata."

"I know, and I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't think there was a chance for you to keep doing that there. I may have an in, but I'll need to develop it a little. I wanted to bring it to you first because I'm sort of just a broker in this matter, I want you to have total control over your situation.

"You know I deal with bad blood, imouto," Midori purred with a smile. "I don't think management will mind if the Mums are packing the house every night but it's something I can have a little discussion with them about when the time is right. I don't move on this until you tell me to move on this, yeah?"

Midori looked genuinely determined to bring other Shadowrunners up while she was on her way up, at least the ones that had been useful or were otherwise trustworthy for her. Similarly, it was Jimmy Ota who got the details on the paydata as she knew she owed him and she liked to keep her relationships good by paying her dues.

Typing on her phone, she quickly passed the message to Jimmy: Kwonsham hiring runners to infiltrate unions and strikebreaking at Daly City manufacturing site. xoxo Midori

"Let me get back to you with a fuller picture, but I wanted to make the offer to you first because, if we can swing it, we'll have ears inside a soaphouse, and the Black Mums stand to make a lot of nuyen from your professional experience getting the most arctic paydata." Midori smiled, topping up what she'd paid for the paydata with a generous tip, knowing that any nuyen she spent on V1XN would be nuyen she'd see again.

"Now, I won't take your whole night up, so let me be clear with you: the girl I'm looking for is named Mio and I think she might try the Crazy Horse or another club if she's desperate. She's likely to go to ground if she thinks anyone is tracking her, so I need like, just us in on this, okay?" Midori spoke plainly to her friend, knowing that if she came across this information in the wild, only she, V1XN and those who had hired her knew what was going on. She could track the information leak back to its source, but had never had that problem with V1XN, before.

"If anyone comes in with anything about a young female Japanese elf, please let me know. Whether it's that she did something stupid and got a gang's back up or that one is for sale," Midori added, shuddering at the thought, "I need to know and I need to see her. Whatever you want for that, I'll pay it," Midori said earnestly, looking into V1XN's eyes.

"For what it's worth, I'm hoping you can open your own place one day," Midori added gently.

At times V1XN seems interested in the pitch, at others she seems to oscillate away from the idea. She is a cagey runner and good at hiding her emotions, perhaps so good or at least so on her game tonight, that even you are finding her hard to read.  You’re confident that laying it all in the line for her, not trying to play any games, will give her a sense of confidence in the idea, but you can see that its going to be slow to come to fruition.

”I can’t deny having eyes and ears inside the Mums soaphouses would be a steady source of cred, but I still don’t know, you know?” she says hesitantly. ”Thanks for not making it a hard sell tonight,” she adds, half genuine sentiment and half warning not to push too hard too fast. V1XN is a runner with a good thing going. Sure, it’s not a gravy train but it pays the bills and it keeps her and the girls in the right side of the slabs in the city morgue. Too many women make a move that pisses off the wrong people and end up geeked. Even in the posh parts of the ‘plex which, at last glance, ‘off Broadway’ ain’t. She will need to see that the reward outweighs the risk.

Gin will need to get on board in a big way to make this play out. The ambitious and philosophical yak is a savvy business man and obviously looking for talented girls, so that part follows the path of least resistance. The Crazy Horse management can be bought off, scared off or simply appeased with a new stable of younger women who will fill the vacuum once V1XN, Sinamon, Charity, Chastity and any others join your venture.

It won’t be hard, but the pieces on the game board all need to be in place first. It will take work, but you can work the angles and make it happen…

…after you find the kid. A hundred k bankroll will certainly help jumpstart this deal.

”I’ll get the word out in the street,” V1XN replies after you ask about getting some help finding Mio. ”You got a pic of the kid? Any idea if she knew anyone in the part of the ‘plex? Maybe we can narrow the search area a bit.”

---

The next time you check your PocSec:
:: LTG# 206 (50-9981) :: {Jimmy}
novahot just like you baby girl … we all squared up

Midori smiled and shrugged, not wanting to give up all the information she had to V1XN along the same boundaries V1XN had established for their mutual occupations.

"Arctic. Just think about it, trust is rare in these parts. If I rise, I'd like to take those I can genuinely trust with me," Midori dropped the subject entirely, knowing that the moving parts it would take to climb the mountain that was the criminal underbelly of the 'plex relied on a lot of ideal outcomes, outcomes which might not yet be in her grasp.

"No word on the street and no picture, I just want to know if you overhear anything. I'll pay good money for it, and for that information to be sold only back to me. She's an elf, like me - while she might be able to market herself into something appealing, she won't be able to hide that side of her and hiding among her countrymen won't work very well: a lot of the more traditional ones won't even speak to her. It's considered a hideous deformity." Midori touched the point of her own ear, frowning as though she didn't see how she was hideous, but the rejection stung nevertheless.

"I appreciate I'm being cagey with details here, but I'm only asking you to listen and get in touch if the rumour mill starts spinning. Take care tonight, Vix," Midori smiled, getting ready to leave the room and return back to her beat. She had one more club to check out tonight and a few other small errands to run but then she could return home and Bliss out for a while.

Midori checked her PocSec before leaving the room, smiling at the message Jimmy had left her. Good to know she'd put at least one thing right that evening.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:50, Fri 24 Nov 2023.

"You know, I kinda really wanna believe you," V1XN replies in response to your wish to bring others up with you. "I'll keep it in mind and look forward to you being in touch," she says a bit more brightly and with the flirty little returning putting just a little edge on the word 'touch'. It pays to keep things light in this biz, even when you're talking life, death and cred.

"If you get a snap of the kid, send it my way. I'll get the word out. Kid on the streets is no joke," she adds sincerely. "Been there.

Back out on the club's main floor, the place is still a heady mix of noise and light and writhing flesh. You could get lost in this world, just let yourself go into a Bliss fueled haze of nights filled with music and cred and teasing. Who knows? You might even find real passion if you let yourself be open to it.

There's just one thing standing in your way. Ambition.

Back to Broadway Avenue (Redtail’s and Capones)? Check leads from the chip (the neighbourhood, the health club and the boyfriend)? Bliss and sleep?

Midori smiled; she didn't take any offence that Vix couldn't believe her, she could barely believe herself about trusting herself half the time. She was glad she'd made the deal for the Bliss, though - that had turned into a pile of easy creds which she'd been able to pay back with some arctic paydata from V1XN herself. She'd made a tidy little profit, about half of what the Bliss was worth and she'd met a few new 'friends' along the way.

Still, the night was young and Midori had work to do. It was too late to visit the boyfriend without raising suspicion and she wasn't dressed for the Health Club, but those she could address tomorrow in a single go if she had a chance. That left Redtail's, Capone's and the neighbourhood as options.

Midori decided she was going to try Capone's and then take a trip through the neighbourhood before heading back to her place. She didn't live far from the red light district, after all, and could loop back on herself to come home.

Midori tried to resist the pull of a nice, easy Bliss trip and stay on task, she exited back onto Broadway Avenue and, while keeping her head on a swivel for anything that either looked like upcoming trouble (people lurking in alleyways, go-gangs she didn't have friends in, even other Shadowrunners) or like Mio or the boyfriend. Of course, in the crowds and commotion she could have missed quite a bit, but she'd learned over time to filter a lot of that out and hopefully wouldn't miss anything too important.

Secretly, she hoped she'd find Mio at home, safe with the boyfriend tomorrow. If the boyfriend didn't know where she was, then she'd be doing the right thing hitting the streets tonight because Mio was in danger. If she was at home with her boyfriend right now, it might take a day longer to find her, but unless he was a total scumbag, he'd keep her safe. Just like Jun had tried to, before he died.

With the Bliss calling you still a gentle whisper in the back of your mind, you make your way back through the Broadway Avenue nightlife to Capone’s. Possibly the most tourist and corp friendly nightspot in the red light district, the club hides its true underworld identity under an old style prohibition era Chicago gangster theme that appeals to a wider clientele then the other clubs in the strip.

Like a scene out of Guys and Dolls, the staff are all dressed and in character as speakeasy hangarounds or rum running mafiosos. Pinstripe suits and v-neck party dresses that are incredibly chaste for this day and age serve a far more liberated crowd of patrons in varying states of dress (and undress in a few cases where patrons show off full body modifications wearing only the barest stitches of fabric for the sake of modesty).

You’re almost certain that the boyfriend will prove to be the best lead, but with a few hours of night still ahead of you before you tumble into bed with that vapourizer, Capone’s is a good bet. If there was a pimp around this part of the ‘plex who was looking for a fresh young face to sell off to the highest bidder, this would be the place you would find him.

Take 1 Edge and use it when you wish to add a useful detail if you choice.

The costumes made it easy to see who was working and who wasn't, and that allowed Midori to parse the crowd quickly. She scanned the employees first for any faces that looked remotely familiar or remotely like hers and then worked through the crowd. She was getting tired now, it was difficult to be hypervigilant all of the time.

Midori moseyed up to the bar and leaned against it, striking a pose that she knew displayed all of her best angles but without making it obvious. If there was a pimp in the crowd, she figured she was still young, pretty and 'exotic' (though she hated the word, it was often used to describe elves, Japanese women or both) enough that someone might take a glance. The trick to being a Face was being open to all sorts of interactions - the weird thing about networks was that often the most logical choice was likely to feel protective over the data, or person that she needed and sometimes it was the spurned ex of a friend-of-a-friend's-cousin who came through with the paydata.

However, Midori still strongly felt that the boyfriend was her best bet but she wasn't sure how she was going to approach the situation yet - she had been so many things to so many people that often she wondered where the lies ended and Midori began. Hell, Midori wasn't even her real name, but nobody in the biz used their government name.

Midori decided to spend the time at the bar intermittently watching the crowd and trying to dig up anything she could find on the BayPlex Shadowlands about the boyfriend. If he was in with a gang, she would use that angle. If he was clean, Midori could always play the 'concerned older sister' type who just wanted to make sure Mio was okay, or even a suit who implied Mio had run afoul of the law and she needed to speak with her urgently. Taxes or something, who understood them, right?

Midori would like to gain a beneficial detail regarding the boyfriend - some sort of edge that allowed her access to the truth as he understood it. :)

People watching is always a safe bet, it helps you figure out how the food chain works, who is 'in' and who is 'out'.

Here at Capone's the roped off VIP area is the 'ins'. If you knew anything about pro sports, you would recognize that about half of the San Fran Knights offense are here tonight. They host twice their number in young women wearing half of their clothes. Not likely the type to dabble in metahuman trafficking, but that seems like a fun place to party.

Elsewhere in the VIP there is a small group of men being doted on by a handful of women. They have the air of career criminals; cold looking like the corps you saw at Cabernet de la Nuit, but seemingly more prone to violence. Men to be avoided or at least handed carefully.

Lastly, there is a woman holding court with obvious admirers. Petite and with bubblegum pink hair, she, and her entourage, have the look of BTL actors or Glittercore musicians. Maybe both since the crossover success of Sugar Sex Bomb late last year. They are probably vapid and naive but maybe they have a handler, a fixer maybe, who might know something.

People watching also gives you time to flip back through details on the chip as you sip your drink, not tasting it. The boyfriend, Akihiro Kitada, is pure as driven snow. Vanilla in every way. Still in high school, a bit of an athlete, starting defensive tackle on the football team.  But, here’s a something, Mio went to high school halfway across the ‘burb from where Akihiro goes to school. That must have meant a lot of commuting to meet each other and probably meant circles of friends in both schools.

Midori mused over the boyfriend and the commute. She was going to have to take a soft approach with this kid, not scare him off. Midori certainly looked too old for high school, but not to be a college student, so she knew how she'd dress and which holster she'd keep her gun in so she didn't accidentally flash it.

She did a little digging around on social media to see if there was any angle she could take - a sports team Mio may have been on, whether her grades were good enough to be scouted for college, anything that she could say 'we're looking for her to give her something you'll want her to have'. She wasn't going to try and twist his arm with guilt yet, or worse, violence, but Midori had a feeling that if she didn't play this right, a chase could be on the cards.

The bubblegum pink hair catches Midori's attention - pretty women often had to touch up their looks lest the illusion fail, so she'd probably have been in the bathroom here more than a few times that evening, potentially hear conversations... once Midori was certain there was no more information to be scoured from the boyfriend lead - though the distance between the two schools was something that niggled at her - she would grab her drink and head over, an innocent grin plastered on her features.

"Ohmigod, hiiiii! I love the colour of your hair!" Midori fell into line with the other admirers, she didn't want to stand out, not at first.

There are a number of angles to use to approach the boyfriend and you’re feeling pretty confident about the plan. You’re right to wonder about the cross-town romance. That means more time spent alone later at night riding the BART between their neighborhoods. More chance for a random act of violence that will be impossible to trace. It means wider circles of acquaintances and cliques from two schools. Parents less aware of what’s going on in their kid’s life. All leaving greater possibilities that details or clues might be missed.

More hay, bigger haystack, same needle.

In the bathroom, Bubblegum Pink gives your compliment a melodic giggle in reply. ”Oh, you’re so fragging sweet to say so. It’s controlled by micro implants, so I can change it,” she giggles as her hair turns copper orange, then rainbow, then back to bubblegum while she fusses around with a small glass vial. ”Your eyes are so pretty, Custom optics? I love the little sparkles, they look so magical,” she continues, railing up a line of novacoke on the counter. ”And you are so fragging sexy too,” she adds hoovering up the line with practices ease. ”Great party tonight! Nova hot!”

((can Midori get a decker through the Bayplex or something like that to check out what Mio and her boyfriend's attendance records are like at school? If she comes armed with that info ahead of time, Midori could technically become the 'impossible to trace random act of violence', but with less violence and more kidnapping :P ))

Building a team and outsourcing is very Shadowrun. Please do try and hire a decker. There’s one or two in the orphaned PCs so I’ll pick one up and run them as your tech support if that works for you.