[indent][h3][sub][sub][sub][sub][i]Collab with Muttonhawk, Corneredbliss, and Ihinka.[/i][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/h3][/indent][hr][color=silver][indent][indent]
There were some moments of peace and quiet as the team milled about in Síofra's whereabouts, with only the metallic hum of cool ventilation and occasional stomping from the above floor taking up the usual noise. Moments to savor in this line of work. Ones without gunfire raining overhead or ever-staring cameras. And as these moments started to pass, Jack had herself a load off. She sat herself at the dinnerside table, arms and legs crossed, shoulders relaxed. As the whole scene with her colleague's family took place, she mostly kept her eyes forward at the wall, paying no mind as she munched on a heavily processed nutrition bar that tasted more like coal than the apple shortcake it was made out to be. Not like she could taste much anyway. 

[color=white]"Looks like you got a real Stepford situation here,"[/color] she said before Síofra would leave the room, easing herself back into the chair and crinkling the used wrapper into a finely squashed ball, [color=white]"I wonder how much meat you had to grind to get it."[/color]

[color=white]"Probably not as much as you would like to imagine, Jack."[/color] Siofra answered on her way to the lab.

Serge entered the dining area with his back a fraction straighter than before. He tugged at his grey lapels and lifted an eyebrow at Jack where she sat. [color=white]"I would have thought the whole Stepford thing would be a step up from the shit we generally deal with."[/color]

For the moment, Serge was content to take a step to the side and lean against the doorway with his arms crossed. He gave Andi and Jack each a high-browed glance. [color=white]"So, we got a lot of blank space to fill. A week's gonna be a fun timetable, but I got one or two acquaintances who might be able to give us a starting point. What about you two?"[/color] He craned his head to look to the messy workshop. [color=white]"Looks like Siofra's already doing her thing."[/color]

Andromeda looked up from Hayes's reply at Serge's inquiry, lifting her phone in the air and shaking it playfully at him. [color=white]"I've already got something in the works,"[/color] she answered, slipping her phone back into her pocket and pushing away from the couch as she did so. [color=white]"An old client of mine, back in the Sinsek days. Darwin Hayes, one of Hosaka's note-lackeys. Should be able to give us something useful; just have to flash him a little ass."[/color] She had moved over to the mirror above a small decorative drawer and was already looking over her face, wiping away at her lower lash line in case there was any hint of stray mascara. [color=white]"Hopefully won't have to be out the whole night. He was always very quick to finish."[/color] A mischievous smirk grew on her lips as her gaze floated to the right-hand corner of the mirror, where she could see Serge and Jack in the dining area. [color=white]"And what about you two?"[/color]

Serge sniffed and nodded to one side with his brow raised. Andi certainly didn't have the worst ways to get information.

[color=white]"I'm gonna lay down a few next steps for what to be looking for, then I plan to do the rounds in the area around the branch. A whole lot can go on in front of innocent eyes that don't make talk in the matrix or the corporate intranets."[/color] Serge pulled his cuff to check the device on his wrist. [color=white]"I might also know a guy who likes to keep his ear to the ground around these parts. If I can get him to loosen up, he might have a thing or two to tell me."[/color]

After pushing off the door frame, Serge unfolded his arms and made a few gestures to bring up contacts on his wrist device. [color=white]"We wanna know anything about this asset, anything about the branch, anything about how to either get into the branch or stop the truck, and anything that could give us an edge. Anyone unclear?"[/color]

[color=white]"Well,"[/color] Jack started, legs uncrossing, [color=white]"Somebody's got alone time with skin, somebody with bolts, I might as well tag along with Serge here as long as he's being social. Dangerous job, that."[/color] The chrome woman stood, her arms unfolding from each other as she pushed a sleeve aside to reveal a panel on the back of her forearm. With a press of her thumb, the metal sheet slid up to unveil a slightly crackling screen with subtle fissures on its surface. She tapped through some numbers then glanced back up to the others in the room. [color=white]"My guys won't be too helpful 'til we know how we're doing this, so I'll stick around with him in case some of his friends need a little 'push'."[/color]

Andromeda, finally satisfied with her appearance, chuckled under her breath at Serge’s little show of taking the reins. [color=white]“All clear, Captain,”[/color] she purred, a little overly compliant, as she began to back out toward the door again. [color=white]“I’ll send word once I’m finished with him. Don’t wait up.”[/color] With an impish wink, she turned on her heel and disappeared back into the tunnels.

Serge gave Jack an upward nod. [color=white]"Fine by me,"[/color] he droned. [color=white]"Just so long as you don't shank anyone who likes pineapple pizza or some shit."[/color]

To Andi, Serge gave a 'hmph' before stepping out of her way. [color=white]"That's a good point, actually,"[/color] he said. He brought one hand up to his mouth and raised his voice just enough to be clear in the next room without shouting. [color=white]"Síofra! Expect us back in four to five hours."[/color] His eyes shifted to Jack again. [color=white]"Let's not waste time."[/color]

Before long, Serge and Jack were headed out of the tunnels. Serge kept a thumb in his pocket while he spoke. [color=white]"The target's in the Primary Industrial Zone blocks. More'n a few free spirits like to camp under the roadways there. They'd do anything for scraps, but that don't mean they won't be slipped a few creds to keep quiet, so you'll definitely be pulling your weight. Let's just hope the armed street sweepers haven't driven them off recently."[/color]

[color=white]"What?"[/color] Jack said, sounding rather serious. She stepped in front of Serge, holding her frame solid, and gave a stern glower. Her jaw held firm, tightened with irritation. Silvery eyes were dead-set upon his, as if searching for the nerve within him. [color=white]"You got a problem with pineapple pizza?"[/color] she rasped, seemingly dead serious. The tension held for a silent moment, without Serge's reciprocation and with Jack standing her ground. And just as he opened his mouth to speak, she broke the stare with a snort. Her lips curled into a smirk as her hardened stance shifted to a casual slouch. Without more word, she stepped out into the dank tunnels, thoroughly amused with herself. [/indent][/indent][/color][hr][color=silver][indent][indent]

The screen-laced goggles about Síofra's eyes pinged a few times as she tidied up the massive mess that was made of her lab; Lilly might've needed a month after all this. Most of the messages were random forum chatter, trashing the quality of Hosaka programming, a few of the more extreme members suggesting that it'd be better to demolish the facility, and a couple ill-advised sexual expletives. Síofra would surely pay them no mind, or casually chew them out for wasting her time. It was about a half-hour of cleaning before the display gleamed with the notification of an encrypted private message. Myrtle made short work of it, and the cracked message displayed before her. 

It came from an anonymous user by the alias of Deck-Breaker, with some numbers for letters for good measure. Seems they'd come across an underground cyberterrorist of sorts out by the northward slum docks, and would be willing to set up a meeting for tomorrow night, but couldn't give any promises about how friendly the contact would be. The message came attached with a photo of a moored ship with a large blast hole in the side of it, and mentioned that it'd be the meeting place, in a downcast neighborhood called Little Heoi.

[color=white]"Probably not as much as you would like to imagine, Jack."[/color] Siofra answered on her way to the lab. Octa was splayed in the middle of the room, idle. The tech sighed. Lilly wasn't allowed to operate Octa. Blinker, or Blinky as her sister had dubbed him, was one thing. Operating him was pretty straightforward. But Octa with her octaped frame required quite a bit of experience and a fair amount of artistry. Both of which Lilly lacked. Which is why she wasn't allowed to jockey Octa. The ex-soldier sighed again. [color=white][i]I should have given her two weeks.[/i][/color]

As Siofra continued working on cleaning and tidying up, answers to her add began rolling in, pinging her goggles each time, showing the content on the display. Most were trash as she'd expected. Just fed up people venting steam. Some were more creative than others in their vernacular. The tech had mostly finished picking up after Lilly and was about to begin servicing Octa, which would take up almost all of the night, when her goggles pinged with a private message on her add. This was what she was waiting for. The anon was vague in their info on this cyber terrorist, but that was to be expected. Risk was part of the job and they needed the intel so she'd have to go and see what this person had to offer. 

Siofra strode to Myrtle to compose an answer. [color=white]"Interested. Set up a meet."[/color] Again she encrypted the message as tight as she knew how and sent it. [color=white][i]Now to see how badly Lilly messed up poor Octa.[/i][/color] Another sigh dislodged itself from the tech's lips. Having kids to take care of was hard. But she wouldn't give it up for anything. She already adored the little brat beyond measure. And even if she didn't, she'd still give her all to help her move past what she'd endured at TVP's instalation.

Síofra's goggles pinged again a few minutes later, just as she was breaking into the tangled mess of steel and aluminium that was made of her precious drone. Myrtle's sifter let it through, as a clip of a computer programming newspaper fizzled into the corner of the display, sent in from her request thread. The clipped image is a close-up of an article headline of an upcoming Hosaka product. 

[center][color=white]NEW NON-LETHAL BLACK ICE PROGRAM BY HOSAKA ELECTRONICS IN DEVELOPMENT[/color][/center]
Evidently, the company was in development of a new line of 'direct matrix security measures', a prospect that they haven't ventured into much in the past. The user that uploaded the clip mentions that they seemed rather confident and secretive in the announcement, suggesting some new breakthrough in development. Some discussion occurred about what, whether it's new talent or new hardware that allowed for the breakthrough. One user heavily suggested that they could be secreting some new AI. From there, rumor came up about the target, that one user related to a Hosaka employee heard about an armored truck leaving in the coming week some time in the morning, headed to an underground facility somewhere, traveling beneath the interstate highway through some familiar slums. [/indent][/indent][/color]