Nov 22 04:48:30 107 PA - Laramy Plans and Others
From Chronicles
Nov 22 04:48:30 107 PA.
CALI'S GARAGE: ATTIC
Vixen is well settled in her little place. This attic office that still has the fresh smell of sawdust and fresh paint lingering in the background. She's settled in a chair in the corner workspot. The two mics, radio and computer making it clear the use as a broadcast point. She's got her feet up beside the computer and a spread of fast food wrappers laid out in a toss across the open desk space. The lights are low, but there are enough to hint at activity within. As she stares balefully at the screen, she sips from a near empty soda cup, lips lightly pursed on the straw. The door downstairs will be locked, the biometric lock non-responsive to those not set up for it.
Once again, the man finds himself in a place not quite ordinary. Still, despite the fact that the radio itself is made digitally, not analog, and there's a computer screen, the rest of the area is comfortably normal enough that Gabriel has no problem walking in, softly rapping his knuckles along the wall near the entrance. As learned over two decades of experience that you never know when a microphone may be on, and thus you may not want to say anything, he leaves his greeting at knuckle-knocking and a friendly wave.
Vixen looks up when she hears the knocking. Her cast of coat is eyed a moment before she snaps up. She pauses for a moment to snag the heavy garment, slipping it in. And as she comes to the stairs to descend to the door, she casually pulls her pistol. Easing up, she puts a hand on the knob, the gun slid behind her thigh casually before she opens it up just a bit for a peek. When she sees Gabriel, she frowns faintly, glancing past him a moment. Then she pulls the door open a bit more, but lingers in front of it as she puts her pistol away. "What'd you want, man?" There is a soft air of annoyance in her tone, though it seems undirected, lingering well with the light fatigue that edges her expression.
Gabriel holds his hands up in a very low version of mock-surrender. "Nice to see you too, Miss Vixen," he says in his drawl. "Rumor has it that you're headed back up to Laramy. Just curious as to why. Poking my nose around, you know." His hands drop down to his waist, standing at a casual akimbo. "But if this is too much of an intrusion, I understand and just get out of your hair." Any mention of interest in direct employment is for the moment left unspoken.
"Social call," Vixen replies, her head canted slightly. "Why, you wanna come? Got one guy so far saying he'll go for free. Means maybe I can take on more. Not that I'm expecting trouble, but.." She casually settles her hand on her pistol, just letting it rest. "I like being prepared and cautious. It's how you live." The rest she doesn't comment on as she considers Gabe.
The older man nods appreciatively at the comment of preparation and caution, obviously agreeing, and obviously deciding that it's the kind of thing that can go without saying. Yet despite that fact, he says, "Most people these days just run off and do things, half-cocked and ignorant. Our way is better." A nice inclusive 'our.' His weight shifts, and he takes a leaning stance against the doorway. "I'd be interested in going back to Laramy, after what the Coalition's done. But like you, I'm not the kind of guy who just runs off without a little knowledge first. Mind telling me why you're going? Who this other guy is?" Money continues to remain a non-issue.
Vixen is quiet for a few moments before she shifts to the side and motions for him to go in. "Go into the main room and settle. I don't have any food left, so.. yeah." A pause, then she adds, "And I told you why. Social call on Laramy. If you haven't heard my broadcasts, I'm interested in making sure they don't swing the wrong way."
"There's more than social call involved when politics get involved," Gabriel says with a tilt of his head, but for the moment ask for no further clarification. Instead, he then just quietly walks into the room as asked, and searches for a place to sit, selecting from a variety of surfaces. One place finally appears to be good, and he lights upon it. Politely waiting for his host - the one he's interrupted - to join him, he passes off, "Thank you, for the thought, but I'm not here for food. Already ate." He pats his stomach to punctuate the fact.
"You seem to know enough about it," Vixen replies as she heads back to her chair, slipping off the armored coat before she tosses it over the empty side of the corner workspace. Then she drops into her chair and leans forward slightly, leaning an elbow against the surface before her. "So what more do you need to know? All you need to worry about is if something decides we look tasty on the way over. Other than that, you can do what you like. We spend some time there, I do my thing, then we all go home in one piece and your pockets are a little more full."
Gabriel leans back and considers for a moment. "Well, if you don't want to tell me why you're going, I can accept that. Secrecy can be necessary." He pokes his chin in Vixen's direction. "We sticking to the roads, or going overland? Hoofing it, got a ride?" Before handing the discussion back to his host, he asks, "Who's the other guy with the possible interest?"
Vixen smirks faintly and says, "I'm sure you can guess the why. You don't need me to spell it you, you're close enough. The other guy is a reliable seeming gun. Seems to be pretty hard against the Coalition, which should pay off if they pop up. You never know, after all. As much interest as they have in the area. And yeah, I got a ride. Nice, shiny new NTI Diplodocus that I've been wanting to take on a long trip. Room enough for passengers, though the guy has his own ride."
"So no one I know," Gabriel offers as a given statement. "You just need an escort because you're afraid of the things that go bump in the night? Sticking to traveled roads, doing innocent things... that doesn't sound like the kind of thing that a person needs a Wells Fargo shotgun for." He cocks an eyebrow. "Maybe worried about escort on the way back more than on the way there?" The older man shrugs it off, probably not expecting any answer. "So, a shiny Diplodocus -" Gabriel chokes on pronouncing it "- and two men with rifles. One woman with a private interest in keeping Laramy from turning into a puppet state. I have to say, it's a little unusual."
"I don't do usual," Vixen replies. "And it's just insurance. Things go well, next time I won't worry. This time.. lets just say I have a bad feeling." She shrugs. "Going to have three. Leo's going too. But that's a given. Leo, this other guy. Maybe you, if you want. A free ride to Laramy, a free ride back and a few more creds. Not the worst way to spend two days, is it?"
The mention of Leonard seems to register clearly with Gabriel. "You really are taking it safe with this one, aren't you? Maybe you're doing some good after all. Anyway, like I tell people, I'm not a mercenary. *If* anything should so very unfortunately happen along the way, recompense for armor repair and ammunition expended would be fine. Maybe buy me a burger while we're there," he says with a cheery wink.
"If there is trouble, you get rights to the salvage from it," Vixen says. "Light repairs we can talk about, but I have my future to consider." She smirks faintly. "I might pick out a bit or two from whatever is left, but all in all this isn't really for profit. At least, not hard profit. More than one way to come out ahead most times, ain't there?" She tilts her head. "But I don't figure there will be any real trouble. I'm gunna be sticking to the routs and not go offroading."
"Best way to hide is in plain sight," Gabriel offers as an axiom. "When children play hide-and-seek, they always look in the corners first. Adults, soldiers, doesn't matter. They play the same way." He looks around the room for a while. "Nice place. I guess this is where you transmit from." Sure, an obvious statement. "Anything that I might be able to do to help while we're in Laramy? Roam around, see what the town's becoming? Or do I just sit down and keep my mouth shut?"
"What you do while we're there isn't something I'm too worried about," Vixen replies, "I'll be going to talk to some folks in Laramy. I haven't decided if I want you guys tagging along. But I suppose we can decide that when we get there. For now, you can do whatever you want once we're there. Walk around, recruit, have a drink, whatever. Just as long as you're ready to go once we're ready, but you'll get warning on that."
A head is nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. I'm sure that we'll all figure out what we want to do when we get there." Gabriel certainly appears to be mulling over some other thought, but it is left unspoken. Instead, the look on his face shows that he moves on to a different thought. "Would you like me to take off and let you get back to your food and broadcast, or do you have a moment for another subject?"
Vixen smirks and replies, "Like I said, I don't have no food left." She leans back in her chair, casually kicking her boots up next to the workstation. "And I'm done working for now. So talk. Don't be too boring, cause sleep is tempting right now." Her tone edged with a casual impishness as her hands lift to fold behind her head.
Gabriel allows a quiet chuckle at the woman's words. His drawl is in full force as he sits forward and rests his forearms on his legs. "Let me reiterate what is common knowledge. I'm sure that you're aware that a woman, Tirzah - sorry, I don't know her last name - is dead. You probably also know that a man, Ahriman - don't know his last name, either - is suspected. Well, he's not suspected, there's dead-set proof that he essentially murdered her in cold blood." He sighs. "The Law isn't doing anything, and so it's up to we the people to do something about it, because vigilante justice is necessary when the Law fails us. I'm hoping that you may be able to help me. I have most of what I need. I can always use another good head and a solid rifle, but I have only two remaining issues to be dealt with, and one of them regards intelligence that you may possibly have the means to handle."
Vixen does not seem surprised at anything that she's told, though she does consider Gabriel a bit closer now. "Huh.. maybe. Depends what sort of intelligence you're after," she replies casually. "If you want someone keen to ice the creepy fuck, Leo's you're guy. Me? I won't shed a tear for him. But I'm not looking to do the dirty on him. Not yet at least, though I don't suppose you'll have trouble finding guns for that. So what'd you think I can do for you besides that?"
"I need to know where he goes when he leaves the city," Gabriel states plainly. "I have him covered here in the urban area. You aren't the only one who knows his or her way around the concrete jungles," he offers with a mild smile. "I'm spreading a little money around the locals, see if they can tell me where he goes. My wilderness specialty isn't actually normally escort, it's ambush and sabotage. I'm just looking to know where to set the trap." His eyes flip back to all of the communications equipment, and up to Vixen's eyes. "Your electronics on the bench and the stuff in your head maybe able to help me out?"
Vixen arches a brow slightly. "Not sure how you think that, cause I'm not good with the outdoors," she replies. "I was born in the city, raised in the city and most every fight up til a few years ago was in the city. Dunno how to follow people out there." She tilts her head in the general direction of the gates. "You got something in particular in mind or was that a general hope?"
"Probably just general hope. I don't know if he perhaps transmits on a special frequency or something. If he transmits." The older man then smiles. "Yeah, in the late '50s we had dedicated frequencies. In fact, Bletchly Park and the US Navy were triangulating the U-Boats while I was busy running around the South Pacific." Gabriel shrugs. "Just figured that it couldn't hurt to ask."
"I can look, but without knowing what to look for, not much hope of that," Vixen replies simply. "I can look for Coalition frequencies easy because I know their chatter and can tell most times when I'm keyed on one of theirs. But sure.. I can have a look. No promises, though. Might have to talk about compensation if I do strike gold. The whole good guys and bad guys thing is nice, but it don't pay bills. And tech adds up. But we can handle that if I do figure out something. If I don't.." She shrugs.
With that, Gabriel rises smoothly to his feet, pushing off his knees with his hands. His head and waist are tilted politely toward Vixen. "Thank you, Miss Vixen. I appreciate your time, and don't want to take up more of it than I need to, as I've probably already overstayed my welcome by a few minutes." His eyes glance around the room again, and he offers, "You have a nice place. Get in touch with me when it comes time to go to Laramy. I should be free and happy to help, if nothing else. As for Ahriman... if you can track him, even just a couple of points, I'm sure that we can scrounge up some money for you." The older man begins to head for the door, then stops suddenly and turns back to face the woman. "All the tech. Is broadcasting the only thing that you do?" There seems to be more under the surface, waiting to be spoken, or not, on the given answers.
"Broadcast, listen, transmit data." She tilts her head slightly. "Anything within about two to three hundred miles of the city, give or take due to weather and interference." The prior compliments and agreements simply accepted without further comment. "You don't have to beat around the bush, you know? If you want something, ask. If I don't want to do it, I'll just say no. I like straightforward."
With a shrug, Gabriel says, "Okay. Would 'listening' include detecting electronic surveillance systems? As in probably cheap and residential type? If so, would it include turning them off and perhaps even back on with no one being the wiser?" He's being quite open.
"I know a thing or two about surveillance systems," Vixen replies casually. "They're all different, however. So how you deal with them is all different. The chance of turning them on and off without being noticed depends on the quality of the gear. I'd have to eyeball it before I could be sure." She drops her feet to the floor and turns her chair towards him, though her hands remain laced behind her head.
The gentleman from times long since past can only chuckle. "Well, that's the problem right there. I don't know if there's any system there to begin with. Mechanical alarms I can handle, electronic alarms? No." He then turns to leave again, just saying, "My plan is to break into this guy, Ahriman's apartment, see if I can find a document or something that'll tell me where he goes if no one else can come up with anything. I know, it's a Hail Mary, but like I said, this is basically the last sticking point before justice can be served." Gabriel touches a loose fist to his hairline, a sloppy "civilian salute" and turns again. "So yeah, contact me about Laramy, and if you can think of a better way to track this guy, I'd be happy if you'd let me know. Take care Miss Vixen. Stay safe."
Vixen shrugs her shoulders just a little. "Couldn't say," she replies. "I suppose we'll have to talk more about it later." She then lifts one of hr hands towards him in a casual wave before she turns herself to face the workstation again. "Make sure the door is closed firm behind you. It'll lock by itself," she sends after him before she resumes considering the screen. But she likely won't do so for much longer.
