1531/F:NV - Pillars of Salt

F:NV - Pillars of Salt
Date of Scene:	08 February 2015
Location:	Mojave Wasteland (NewVegas)
Synopsis:	The New Vegas crew uncover the remains of a spy's nest in the Gomorrah and piss off all of the Omertas in the process
Cast of Characters:	Kotone Yamakawa, 32, Arthur Lowell, Eryl Fairfax, 627, Starbound Flotilla, 673

---

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    LAST TIME ON NEW VEGAS ADVENTURES!

    Dhatri blinks at that last question, looking at Souji. "Mr. House? The guy in charge of New Vegas? Johnny's boss?" Cut to a massive screen in the Lucky 38, the implacable face of Robert House staring down at the Courier.

    George, lit by the glow of a green CRT, turning his grey suit a sickly color. "Hey guys! Found something, might take us somewhere helpful. Get in the hole, we'll see what's up here." Cut to a ladder with Cass and the Human scaling.

    A flash of naked flesh and the reactions of the intruders, before Seft and George stand with their manipulators sealing off a bulkhead/door.

    And then Johnny leaning in to a smarmy looking mafioso, who sneers up the Courier. Johnny growls right back. "We can change the arrangement, Nero, don't think I won't force the issue. Let me in the damn casino."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    If you're looking for high class, well maintained and 'not smelling like a spice market on Sunday', well brother you're probably looking for a place other than Gomorrah. The fact that there's some half naked NCR troopers dancing in the fountain outside with one of the girls from inside should tell you quite a bit. Well, that and the giant damn torches that punctuate the sign outside.

    Inside though, Johnny Tallbranch and his erstwhile investigation squad wait in the foyer of the casino. Johnny's dressed down out of the duster and armor today, instead wearing a smart looking suit and clearly not carrying any weapons on his person. The Courier looks around at everyone else, and especially over at the more combat oriented types. "We're going to have to turn over our weapons to get in, or else there's gonna be trouble. But I know you folks know how to hold your own if something starts, right?"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji Murasame stands in the foyer in his impeccable tailored suit, looking for all the world like he came straight from Japan. He watches the environment with a dispassionage gaze. If he finds the obvious wares for display here attractive, one cannot see it in his face or behavior. "I am more than capable of defending myself without a weapon." He replies. "Though my blade does not suffer others to carry it." He does not smile with anticipation. If anything, he seems to wish more than anything to just move on from here.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl is here too, under orders from ReGenesis. When they heard of another world that is struggling through a post-apocalyptic phase, they asked him to swing by sometime and help the locals if he can. It's always better to try and struggle together, after all.

     So, here he stands, clad in his suit and full-body cape. While such things might seem conductive to smuggling weapons, an extensive search would reveal the only things he has on him is a wooden brush and a copy of 'Pride and Prejudice.' He smiles softly at Johnny, bowing his head to him and all the others.

     "I am confident in my capabilities, sir," is all he says. That's putting it lightly.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    George is looking a little like a vault dweller here, still. The gray jumpsuit with blue elements looks like an offbrand vault's uniform. Today, he lead the pack of Starbounders, the rest of the group lagging behind a little. His smile's a bit too wide, his expression's a bit too forced. George doesn't like this place on a primal level, but he's keeping it under his hat, and in fact after a few seconds you can hardly even think he doesn't like them at all!

    "I can handle myself." George nods. "We'll be fine. Anything starts, try to toss me something sturdy for bludgeoning. Other than that, I'll deal with it myself." Cracking a few heads wouldn't make George unhappy around here. Aside from George, Pavo seems to be the most adjusted here, with Albert, Seft, and Biteblade managing an uneasy apathy and Moonfin being particularly strained by the environment as they file in.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
So here she was, Kotione was in Vegas and they were still looking into things she had sent Johnny a print of the super happy smile sort of police bot. Maybe he'd be better able to place it? She was unassuming really save maybe being a bit more cleaner than one might expect here but other than that she seemed fairly harmless right? Either way she was here and she looked to Johnny and George for a moment.

"We should be able to handle our selves right?"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    And as everyone files into the lobby, there's a bit of commotion as The Boss makes his presence known. Well rather, first there's a trio of goons that comes in first, dressed in ill-fitting suits and carrying pistols in their jackets, if those bulges are to be believed. The men square off with... the biggest threats in the room besides them, whom they deem to be George, Souji and Eryl. Like, right up in the faces of the other fellows, totally discounting the ladies in the party for this.
    Behind them comes a greasy looking dude and a smarmy looking dude who holds himself properly. If there was any doubt, he walks right over to the Courier and... grins. "Well, John, it looks like you do have a spine after all. Nice of you to come around, actually. We've had a bit of a remodelling issue and I hear you're good at being Not-At-Home's handyman. Got a nice drill for us?"

    Johnny just growls. "You really have no idea what sort of shit you're into, do you Nero? I can toss your dumbass out of the Strip. Leave you back in the goddamn desert where House found you."

    Nero just smiles. "Can you though? That's the fuckin' question."

    One of the thugs looks at George and grunts. "Hand over the nailgun." Is he talking about the MM?
    Another nods at Souji. "And the sword."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Over in the corner, the lady receptionist behind the checkin counter starts fidgeting a bit, and trying to make herself known to the ladies in the group though furtive glances and other gestures.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is listening as they start going at it verbally she doesn't wwll make much toruble, however she does notice the receptionist and start to calmly make her way over to see just what she might want. Kotone is curious about this and will see what she wants, while she trusts Johnny and the rest to take care of other things

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl sizes up the clich� goons and the boss, that polite smile never leaving his face. He bows to each of them in turn; quietly calculating firing solutions that would take them all out should a fight break out.

     While he had done his best to learn what was going down here, he is a bit lost! But, his years have taught him to read when tensions are high, and here? Palpable enough to cut with a knife. Slowly, he moves up, standing to the sides of Johnny and the Boss, but in between them, palms raised to face one or the other.

     "Gentlemen," he begins in a polite, soft tone. "I can tell that tempers are flaring up here. In my experience, an optimal deal has never been reached when both parties are hot under the collar." He turns his head to smile at everyone, not laying blame on anyone in particular.

     "I think we all need a moment to cool off. Perhaps a walk to a private room would afford us that moment? At the very least, we would not be worrying the customers by bickering in the foyer, eh?" He flashes a pearly grin at the Boss at that.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    Rory's managed to change her clothes in the handful of time it's been from POint A to point B. After getting a good view of the local outfits... it was as though her white robe-coat came to life and melted into a new shape and colors, forming some wastelander pants and shirts with some utility-pouch-looking attachments. It's pretty generic but quality make and surprisingly neither damaged, tarnished, or faded!

    And she's not carrying any weapons, surprisingly!

    ... None anyone can see, anyways.

    For the moment she's being something of a wallflower, just behind Kotone. The locale's interesting, the people are strange, and the group that just came down to confront the Courier has her shrinking back a few steps, intimidated.

    "We keep going to the most... unique places..."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji takes in the proceedings with an immovable expression. At the request for the sword, Souji removes it from his side with a smooth motion, holding it forward with one hand. "Be cautious. It is not easily carried."

Once the man takes it, Souji casually releases it.

A moment later, the weapon resumes its normal weight of several hundred pounds.

He turns away as the thug likely has a surprising situation on his hands, not showing an iota of concern for what happens to the man.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    George smiles a friendly, fake smile. "Sure thing, pal." And he unhooks the Matter Manipulator from his belt, handing it over. "But, I'm here about a wall. This isn't a nailgun, it's something I'll be needing if we're gonna help with that. Probably gonna need it back to help deal with this." He'll certainly give it up, but he's first gotta see if he can pass that speech check.

    The others will follow suit with George, though most of the remainder need to head to the receptionist to see what that's all about. Seft, Pavo, and... Biteblade, apparently? Meanwhile, George is immediately into this. "You know, speaking of that wall, I hear a lot of weird things about what's behind it. Nero, right?" George is approaching with that same faux sociability that covers up a bit of boiling temper. Eryl gets a look without a grudge though, but its friendliness still somehow seems forced in some way. "Tall dark and whirring here has a good idea. We don't wanna ruin anyone's /good time/ with the political talk about what's behind the wall, right?"

    Moonfin raises two of his three eyebrows at Souji's sword incident. "The burden of a blade is light only on those who are meant to carry it." He comments, bemusedly. "Perhaps leaving it here on the ground is the closest we will get to effective storage."
    Albert makes an ape grunt at Rory White. "Interesting, yes. Try not to understand it. Or don't try to understand it. You don't already. It's for the best, here." Another quick "hmmph" ape-grunt.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @FELLAS:

    The thug does a remarkable job of making sure the damn sword doesn't break something, by simply leaning into it and letting the tip of the sheath SLAP into the floor with a rattling shake. Thankfully, the marble of thefoyer doesn't crack. That does get a look out of Nero though who stares over at the lean boy carrying the blade,and Eryl and George, and the realization dawns on him.
    And then back at Johnny.

    "You brought Syndicate here, you shifty fuck. Is that why there's a goddamn tank holding my best room hostage?" A finger points accusingly at George. "Let him keep the damn thing, if he put the wall there, I want that crap out of my damn hotel. Leave the sword, Frank, let's just go and talk... somewhere else." He glares at Eryl and then John... and it's the Courier's turn to fake smile. "I thought you'd see it my way, Nero."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    And then the group is lead off onto the casino floor, past the 'family friendly' stuff like blackjack tables and slot machines and roulette and other table games of chance. There's even a great big wheel of fortune in the back. All of the games are packed tonight, and more than a few people sorta stare at the procession of people heading back into the offices.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @LADIES (and plant):

    And once the men are gone, the receptionist slumps her shoulders and looks at the rest. "I thought you guys hwere here for that big wall but... he said you're Syndicate right? Di-did you guys get my letter? I put up a job like a while ago, or tried to. I wasn't sure if the letter got through."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    And once the group is safely out of earshot of everyone else on the floor, Nero whirls on the group and growls. "What's it going to take to get my whore house unfucked?" A look at John and George and Eryl and the rest.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl's smiles are never fake; they just have varying levels of authenticity. This particular smile becomes the next grade of authentic when Nero consents to taking it elsewhere. That means that, should a fight break out, they're isolated. Less chance of collateral damage, or innocents getting involved.

     Though, as they make their way through the casino floor, he wonders how many people who would give patronage to a place like this would really deserve the moniker of 'innocent.' Well, that's not his place to judge. Instead, he just strikes up a friendly conversation. "I quite like what you have done with the place. As I understand it, Las Vegas was renowned for its casinos, with every theme you can think of. You have done a fine job keeping that legacy alive here." The faint cries his ears pick up though, that could probably be done without. But, one thing at a time here.

     Once they're in a more secluded area, and Nero utters a sentence Eryl thought he would never hear, the cyborg just leans against a wall in the corner, observing the proceedings.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa looks to the woman for a moment and pauses seemingly like she's looking at something else for a brief moment then she seems to come back.

"There was no mention of a job from you or any from New Vegas I can find going back for quite a bit I'm afraid. It didn't make but but well here we are can we get the details miss?"

She seems happy to help from the look on her face an then she speaks again.

"Oh yes, my names Kotone Yamakawa good to meet you, miss."

<<Tell me about it this place went in a totally different way than either of our worlds did, Rory. I would likely be as gob smacked going to your world.>>

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji has an appreciation for a man who doesn't compeltely embarass themselves when confronted with the unexpected. "Hmm." He repies at the noise of the weapon hitting the ground heind him. "Acceptable." He comments cryptically, before he looks to Moonfin. "There is nothing figurative about the burden of this weapon. Only the worthy can wield it." He replies, turning away.

He moves with the other men, leaving the ladies behind, walking through the game floor, his dispassionate gaze looking over the area present as if weighing each of the people he looks upon. NCR, tribal, Legion, whatever. It does not seem to matter to him, he is equal in his stoic faint disdain.

Once Nero finally speaks business, he looks to the others, and then to Nero. "We are performing an investigation. You are agitated for much the same reason why we are here, I believe. Once completed, there will be no further disturbence." His tone is dispassionate and businesslike. "Surely you have as much of an interest in seeing an end to this as we are."

Rory White (673) has posed:
    <A different direction is one way to put it.>

    After sending that message to Kotone, Rory faces the receptionist with a smile,a nd bows slightly. "That is us. As Kotone said... details?"

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    George says, "Thanks, pals." The Matter Manipulator is quickly slotted back into his belt and he's off! Walking along behind Nero, George says, "Haha, oh man, been years since someone said that like that about me." Ahhh, memories. "Yeah, I'm in charge of the wall there. Could probably get it taken down pretty quick too. Easy, pal, we can take this easy."

    When they're finally in private, George crosses his arms and takes another step forward, keeping the distance just aggressive enough to be underhandedly unfriendly but not enough to provoke violence. "As for what it's gonna take, that's pretty simple. All I'm after is a list here, capo. You probably run a tight ship, right? I need to know who's the one with the keys to that room all the time. Someone been renting it out for days and days. Someone maybe chewing your ear off and holding something over your head about the room the past couple days...?"

    Moonfin steps forward briefly, exploiting their knowledge for a moment. "If she is causing your organization trouble, we'll be happy to help address the issue favorably for you." They know it was a lady doing a lot of work here and these guys don't seem like the most reputable sort, so maybe this is the way to go...

    Meanwhile, Seft's visor lights up briefly, a light scanning back and forth through it. Then the image of a volume sign, tuning down slowly as bars disappear. "Confused. No data. Please clarify cause of messenger failure, additionally cause of distress." She tilts her head. "Hopeful. How can we assist?"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @LADIES (and plant): The receptionist stammers a little before whispering. "I think my boyfriend is caught up in something awful. He's one of the low leve guys around here, name of Michael. He's... he's gone missing, like right after that big broohaha that I think Nero's got your boys up there chatting about. He's a bouncer down at the bar, and he's never been gone this long and..."
    Her face turns downcast. "I know something went wrong, but... I need to know, alright?"

    She furtively slides a little pile of NCR $5s across the table, and... under that, as sneaky as she can be, a key. "This goes to his office in the basement, just... find out, alright?"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    THE GUYS:

    He did in fact say 'unfuck my whore house'. Those are the words he used. Nero turns first to Souji and Eryl. One is a businesman, the other is a robot man and he's not a fan of either of those. "It's a business sure, but... It's my business, got it? And I like to keep myself and Mr. House as far apart as possible."

    Though, Moonfin and George get looks. Something they're saying flicks in his brain, and a question he was about to ask gets switched around. "I'm gonna be honest with you here, I got a ton of dames and guys workin' here and they all want into that goddamn room. It's the best one in the casino for fuckin' and that's saying a lot around here. You're going to have be a little more specific about that."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa listens for a moment and humms at the mention of Michale she doesn't like the sound od this. She does seem concerned she looks nodding once as she moves to take the money as if she was being hired form something else. She catches the idea od where to go and she nods once she looks to the other ladies an planet with a nod.

"Shall we?"

With that's she's going to start for the location she was suggeszted to go to by their employer.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl just inclines his head as Nero proclaims that he wants his business to remain independent. Certainly, businesses should have some degree of autonomy from the state. But this place... could use a little regulation, he feels.

     But again, this is Johnny and George's negotiation. If things get tense, he'll step in. Same again if a fight breaks out. But for now, he just watches, still smiling.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    Rory nods quickly, falling into step with Kotone. "We'll look into it, miss!" Simple and straightforward while giving the best reassuring smile she can.

    <I have no idea how to get around in here, Kotone. You take the lead!>

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji nods. "I agree. It is always unpleasant to have entanglements with the controlling force of the region." Souji replies, calmly. He does not, however, say more, deferring to George since he seems to have a more exact idea of what they're looking for. The occupants of a specific room. Information. A list. He stores that for later use.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Something else clicks in Nero's head at this point, and he turns to point at Souji and then at The Courier. "Wait a second, John, is this the kid you're gun-runnin' for? This kid?"

    The Mafioso looks Souji over a bit more. "There ain't a kid I know around here who'd talk about business like that, that's for damn sure. Murasame, right?"

    The Courier's eyes narrow. "You're awfully well informed lately, Nero. That's right, he is supplying us with food and seeds. That nice fresh stuff you've been lifting on the side from the NCR pukes that run in here from McCarran."

    Uh, okay these two guys do have a history.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Seft's visor fills up gradually, as if loading something or processing something, before it blinks and goes back to her pair of big blue eyes. "Affirming. I understand the circumstances. We will move to investigate and ensure you do not experience negative consequences." She moves back to the others, taking the key and handing it off to Biteblade. "Advising. Access the basement office without being detected during the act. Biteblade, please breach in the appropriate fashion."

    "Floran opensss door, findss sssecretss!" Biteblade says, taking the key and immediately heading to the basement with Kotone! Where Biteblade intends to wander around until it's time to be SNEAKY and breach the door with their key, slip in, and shut it tight. You know, unless there's interruptions.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @LADIES:
    Surprisingly, there's fewer looks of suspicious at Rory and Kotone. The two look vaguely human enough and are ladies and are good looking so they clearly must work here. Seft and Biteblade get more looks, but Biteblade's off like a rocket. A sneaky rocket.

    The path downstairs is going to take the ladies past the Zoara Club, a bar and strip joint that's the midle ground between the casino and what lies beyond those doors to the courtyard. Basement, basement. Biteblade will find the door to the basement easily enough, save for the thugs that are milling around the place, arguing over some sort of bet or chips or caps or something. Thug problems.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    ELSEWHERE...

    "Best one in the casino for a lot of other things too. Pal, unless you're playing a hell of a double game you're getting played yourself." He takes a bit more of a serious, aggressive posture. "But we gotta go deeper, on account of the circumstances. I can be fine with that." He grinds his teeth briefly before elucidating a bit more. "Here's what you'd have gotten, pal. Loud noise reports. Not the usual; power tools. That might be normal. around here, for all I know. Someone with a reservation for a couple days in there. A girl, maybe alone. That narrow this down?"

    George's negotiation style is a harsh contrast to motst. It's all business with a bit of extra snarl, definitely nothing especially careful. It's quick and brutal but it's servicable.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji nods in response to Nero. "Souji Murasame, of the Murasame Zaibatsu." He introduces himself. "I will be seeking to establish business in the New Vegas area. There are a number of potential... mutually beneficial arrangeents that can be made with the local powers... Should everything remain cordial, of course."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @GUYS:

    Souji gets a grin. "Well good, another player out here cetainly mixes things up, and an offworld one too. See, John, maybe you do make some good ideas on which side to back after all."

    But then the smile is gone. George's questions grind something in Nero's head, which in turn gets him to grind his teeth a little bit. Especially when the Greyshirt get to the word 'played'. He's not taking that one well at all. "Let me just take you up to the fucking room so you can fix this with your fancy gizmo." He points at the two thugs who aren't nursing a bruised hand, and leads, or attempts to lead the group towards the courtyard.

    If you were looking for the hive and scum and villany, you've found it out here. It's relatively 'early' in the evening, and the strippers and the hookers are the ones out in force tonight. Though there are a number of the ladies and men in leather get ups, as opposed to just the skimpy, easily removed sorts of clothing. The room in question can be easily spotted though, with two more Omerta thugs standing outside a now mostly singed doorframe, the beaten slab of iron and steel and whatever the crap metal that was put there scorched and singed and slightly cut.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Hm. So the Murasame Zaibatsu is dealing in New Vegas. Eryl saves this little tidbit away in his memory banks, just in case. Although, he doesn't really have much to say. It would be a bit forward to declare that ReGenesis has interest in partnering with whomever emerges as the head faction, especially if it isn't this 'Mister House.' So he just continues to act as the smiling mute muscle.

     But, they are off, to fix this problem! And here, Eryl's distaste starts to become a little evident by the slight narrowing of the eyes and a downward curling of the corners of his mouth. The oldest profession isn't exactly a nice one, especially when the workers are abused, which he suspects may be the case.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone's thankful she and Rory don't get too much toruble on their way heading for the Zoara Club she knows what it is after all. She knows biteblade isn't dumb, no far from it. It's just them trying to speak a meat words. EIther way she looks up to the thugs for a moment and umms as she comms Rory.

<<Rorry let me take the lead here.>>

She comes up to the thugs smiling a little bit as she doe so.

"Good day Gentlemen, what seems to be the problem mumm you seem bothered."

She ajustst her shirt a little bit clearly attempting a speech check here.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    George makes a plaintively helpless noise. "Well, I'm just trying." A few chuckles can be heard from him as he gets to the door. "Ooohhh, yeah, I actually know a thing or two about space hull design. Trust me, this is dude-proof." Unholstering his MATTER MANIPULATOR, he flips it around his fingers deftly. "Here, I'll get you guys in."

    Pointing it at the wall, he begins to dig into it, pulling the raw materials of the metal out of the doorframe and into his Matter Manipulator. "See, we're here about whoever made what you'll be seeing behind this. I'm doubting you really wanna be the guys people say are doing what's getting done here, right?" It shouldn't take more than a few seconds to clear out the blastproof hull-wall, leaving it as if it never was!

Rory White (673) has posed:
    Since Kotone's going to be leading the diplomatic efforts down here, Rory does her best to put on a smiling business face, merry and hopeful, swhilst standing behind Kotone with her hands folded across her lap. It's a bit more demure than one would expect of people in her clothing, but... oh well, whatever.

    <Certainly! ... Ifeel very out of my element here... we realy need to plan these things better!>

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    George!
    The plugged door opens easily enough, seeing as George was the one who put it in there in the first place. The toughs move out of the way, and Nero pokes his head in first, before John growls. "This isn't your turf right now, you aggrandizing prick, move."
    He roughly shoves Nero aside to step into the hotel room. Several days of being stifled have done little to improve the smell, that's for sure, though there's a sudden, telling draft from behind the wardrobe, one of the doors wobbling slightly, showing off a few more proper outfits that have taken up residence.
    Johnny waves to George. "Search the room, find me some evidence."

    There's a number of places the group can poke their heads at. Cabinets, tables, the mattress and bed, a little desk over in the corner, the bathroom, have at it.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    LADIES!

    The group of thugs look up at Kotone and Rory and look... a little bit confused. These two aren't the hired help. One sniffs and rubs at his nose. "Ain't nothin', just a bet, nothing's the matter. You ladies are gonna need to have business down there to get by. Who are you goin' to see?"
    Oh, that's easy enough.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"Indeed." Souji moves through the courtyard, his expression dipping into the edges of disdain as he looks over the 'workers' present, but remains silent as he heads towards the doorframe, looking it over. "Formidable." He comments shortly, and looks over towards George once more to see him work. The Matter Manipulator is an unusual device, to be sure, and his efforts to dissassemble the bulkhead are met with a measure of curiosity.

When the area is opened up, Souji enters the room calmly, looking it over with a slightly frown. He moves to look over the desk first. People do work at desks.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl has long since learned his lesson out here in the Multiverse. When 'impossible' things are happening, don't look. So, he very pointedly averts his eyes as George seemingly disintegrates the material. When he looks back, he can just pretend that he welded a hole in it to keep Original Face happy.

     Stepping inside, he squints to see through the dark and gloom, wrinkling his nose at the built-up smell. Eau de Disused Room is something he never really got used to, and considering what this room is used for on top of that... best not to think of it.

     To be honest? Not totally clear on what he is looking for, but he checks the bathroom anyway, trusting Original Face to pick out anything unusual.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @DESK:
    Whoever was using this desk seems to have been here more than the others who might have been using it, owing to the rather standard sort of thing that's in here. Condoms, lotions, potions, a derringer, a notebook with a bunch of pages rudely torn out, a holotape, three sets of matching bras and panties of the 'not really a bra and panties' variety and of the same size, two boxes of .45 ammo, and a box full of bobby pins and hair clips and scrunchies.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @BATHROOM:

    Maybe it's surprising that a room in a place like this would have a bathroom in the first place, but this one sure does. Well maintained too, for a whole house. Mostly unbroken mirror, running water in the tub and shower, various chems and pills on the counter, some needles of some sort as well, looks like morphine or something similar.

    Female. Tallish for the Wastelands. Good at concealing much else. This is the sort of place that's been wiped. Regularly. And not just to clean the place.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is taking the lead here and she's got a good idea of where she's gong sne smiles widly without skipping a beat here as sh notes.

"I came to see Frank for a bit, if that's not too much trouble for you? I'm not looking to make anyone unhappy you know?"

She grins again and is glad ROry is following her lead.

<I think I got this!>

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl rubs his chin as Original Face starts linking stuff together. Back to what Nero said earlier, about this room being highly desired. He can see why, it's very clean. Unusually so. They are in a desert, after all, and dust and sand are insidious, worming into the tiniest of cracks. Someone's been here with a scrubbing brush on more than one occasion.

     Eryl steps out of the bathroom and looks around, crossing his arms. Evidence... he immediately crosses to the bed and starts peeling off the sheets, checking each one carefully before casting it aside. He also checks pillows, and both sides of the mattress!

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Here." George says, taking sweeping steps back to the wardrobe he discovered before. "You know, normally I'd beat around the bush about this but I really don't care enough right now." He's gonna swing it open and kick out the back where it opened before.

    "Someone had enough time here to build this. Who was it? That's what I need here. Soon as we know that, I'll fill it back up with junk to seal you back up, and we'll be out of your damn hair. Easy and quick. So, Nero, what do you got?" George favors lying over telling the truth, but sometimes, truth is just the practical choice!

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @GIRLS:

    The tough's eyebrows raise, and he snorts. "Well lucky Frank. Alright, ladies, just down the stairs, hang a left. You'll wanna stay out of the mess on the main floor, there's a buch of junkie in there andwe ain't cleared em out yet, just watch yerself."
    And he waves the girls in. Good thing Michae's room isn't too far away. The little room is less of an 'office' and more like 'a large broom closet'. A little room for the thug to catch some shuteye, get some sleep and... Well.

    Now sleep forever. There's a fellow down here, wearing half of an NCR uniform, the pants at least. A neat hole has been planted in the guy's forehead and he's been dead for at least a few days.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    GUYS:

    Nero looks at the hole and then looks at John, and then swears. "The fuck is this. Who the fuck did this?" He stares at the people in the room and then back at the hole, and then turns and stalks back to the doorjamb, leaning against it. "Toss the room, whatever, now I know what had you all goddamn up at arms."
    John just glares at Nero. "And you had no idea? That someone breached my Strip?"
    "Fuck you, Johnny, it's certainly not YOUR Strip." Nero's eyes narrow. "You watch your place, /courier/."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    ERYL:

    Oh my god you're touching the bed oh my god you're looking under the bed in a whore house augh-
    Ohwait, this shit's been cleaned too, who the fuck cleans under the bed in a whorehouse? Or under the damn mattress?

    Your efforts turn up a slightly stained set of bedsheets and other soft furnishings, a locked footlocker, several relatively intact beefcake magazines stuffed under the mattress, and another gun. This time a .45 automatic. Looks like a Colt model of some sort.

    The eyes see. The face knows. Red hair. Short or trimmed. Traces of multiple sorts of nail polish above the lock on the footlocker. Someone who has goddamn access to nail polish in this foresaken place.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    Rory executes another slightly overly formal half-bow and tucks herself into the passage after Kotone!

    <Great job!>

    What the HELL is she doing here?

    Keeping an eye on Kotone, probably? But does she need her help?

    But the thing they find when they arrive gets her clapping a hand over her mouth, then rushing into the little room to get a look at the man and examining him...

    "... At least a day dead..."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji looks through the desk, ignoring the clothing and various... work-related accoutrements. He picks up the holotape. "John." He calls, and tosses him the holotape. He doesn't have anything to read this.

He does, however, pick up the notebook, looking at it closely. He looks around for a moment. "Do you have a pencil?" He asks the Courier. and then frowns at the discussion between the pair. "Last I checked, this was Mr. House's Strip. Let us remain on task."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa grins a little bit.

"Thank you good sirs."

It never hurts to be nice and polite right? Even if these guys are thugs by her world standards? Still it doens't hurt. EIthe way she'll move onb with the others as soon as they are allowed in. She looks about as they make for the room she intends to be quick and there's a look on her face as she sees the coprse.

<<Damn is this Michale and if not we still got a dead ... NCR trooper on our hands>>

Things just got more messy the good thing is everything KO sees can be downloaded for later access later. She looks over and humms there's a grim look on her face.

"We can't stay too long here look for papers or anything that might have information we should finish up and go once we're done. I don't fancy a fight down here."

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @SOUJI:
    Johnny takes the disk, and hands back... a crayon. What? "It's what I got."
    He slots the holotape into his Pipboy, and looks over at Nero, who is glowering at this whole situation. The Pip Boy bleepboops, and... It's a recording of two voice in the throes of ecstasy.

MALE: Come on baby, it's a good plan... you and me... The Hub? Just head out to the coast and... hhhhhnnn.

FEMALE: Mikey, you know it won't be that easy, right? It's not like that.

'Mike?': Cachino's already got us lined up the perfect getaway, you and me.

    The tape keeps going, but Nero's shouting now. "Cachino you stupid piece of shit, what the fuck." And then he's stalking out of the room, screaming at two of his thugs to follow him. Oh dear.

FEMALE: You found a right sized guy, right? There's... plenty of fatigues down there.

'Mike?': Right there, yeah baby...

    Johnny cuts off the tape and looks over at the others in the room. "What the hell is this? I mean, besides the obvious."

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    The Floran shuffles by as well! The plant looks weirdly gendered enough to maybe be what passes for a girl? Oh well. "Floran, alssso sssee Frank. Yess." They say as they confidently saunter by. The greater part of stealth is always looking like you're supposed to be there.

    As soon as the Floran gets here, the true state of matters becomes apparent. "Is meat!" Floran says. "Dead prey already! Not good!" The plantman immediately begins to work! "Hunters, alwaysss leave trace! Prey, alwaysss leave sssign, trackss! Find! Find why hunt, then, we find hunter." Immediately, Biteblade is rummaging through the pants, as well as scouring the rest of the room for any signs of what this guy might have been doing before, that could be relevant to why people would want to kill him.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @GIRLS:

    The room isn't large enough to hold many secrets, or so it would seem. Whatever's going on upstairs, it's taking awhile.
    The dead guy is wearing dog tags of some sort, but they're labeled 'S. Dawnhill'. The pants have some petty cash and such. A note with a lipstick kiss. 'meet u @ v21 tomorrow nite' That's the motel across the street from the Monorail back towards Camp McCarran.
    Flipping the corpse will show that he was done right here. Bruising around the face and neck like he got beat on before getting shot. There's pooling on the man's back consistent with him not having moved in those two days or whatever. Tiny entrance wound, no exit wound. .22 maybe? Right in the noggin? Someone did this guy wide awake and breathing and staring up at that gun.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    To call Rory shocked at the way Biteblade's taking this is an understatement. Her eyes are wide and she's completely frozen. Despite calling him meat... she's spotting professional tracking efforts at work.

    And now that she's gotten serious... it's time to start learning and adapting. She can't keep sticking to her role if she wants to be with this group. Must learn. Must push onwards, find new horizons!

    Which is why she immediately catalogs all the details of the corpse and the room in an EXPERIENCE PLAYBACK and several videos and pictures for later review in case they miss anything. She's careful to glance over EVERYTHING to make sure the recording gets it.

    "If he's a soldier he should have identification!" She points out, hoping Biteblade can hunt for that too.

    In the meantime she does something kind of gruesome. She puts on a strange glove. It's a tad bulky-looking... but she hovers it over the dead man's forehead.

    TThe index and middle finger tips extend outwards into numerous tiny digits... which themselves split into tinier digits... tinier and tinier.

    These all then slide into the rotting wound to carefully carve the bullet out - whatever's left of it.

    Kind of a squicky thing to be doing if you're organic. Not so much if you don't have a stomach to upset.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     When you have metal hands, matters like 'infections' and 'touching icky things' become less of a concern. But if you think that Eryl isn't going to nuke his hands with bleach after this, think again. As it turns out though, his concerns are unfounded, the bed is quite clean. Again, worryingly clean.

     He picks up the gun and places it on the desk, looking at the hole in the wall, as well as listening to the tape (saving a copy in his memory banks. You never know). When Nero starts to storm off, he looks concerned as he glances at Johnny. "Sounds to me like one of his employees fell for a client and they escaped together. The fact that she felt the need to do so in this manner says much about how this place treats the likes of her."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa notes "Dog Tags are likely." Metal tags with ID information that could surive explosions or even fire were pretty common right? They were easy enough to make and what she knew of the NCR? They were more than skilled neough to produce such she'd noticed they did have standarized gear produced after all. She however takes a moment to get the dog tag and does find the note while searching as best she can along with the others."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji takes the crayon and looks at it, considering. "Good enough." He begins lightly drawing the crayon over the page. Apparently that old trick to lift impressions off of paper is known in Galianda too. As he works, he speaks, "It looks like he was planning to defect, likely to some sort of military based on the slang of 'fatigues'. I would recommend that Mr. Fairfax follow the man, as I believe there is about to be a conflict." Why would Souji suggest that? Maybe he did some reading.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    ERYL:
    Johnny looks at the other cyborg and then at the rest of the room... and then swears. "This lady wasn't getting beaten or misused. She was the one using it." He kicks the warddrobe door hard enough to bust it off its hinges with his boot, and growls. "This was a goddamn setup from the start. The only question is where the hell did they go from here?"

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @RORY:

    All you're able to find in this poor man's head is bits of brain and little pieces of metal. Sorry, he's been murdered pretty good. Professional like, even.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    George's eyes get a bit wide at Nero there. "Stay here." He says, to Moonfin and Albert, as Souji sets things in motion. "We need to go. Biteblade might be onto something, hell if I can tell what. We need to figure what Cachino's acting as getaway guy for." He's gonna get into motion and follow along behind Nero as quick as possible, he's not losing the chance to evesdrop on this!

    "Floran finds identificationsss. Tagss! Alssso, note!" Biteblade's also listening to the data being sent from George, and then, suddenly, goes onto some kind of dramatic detective revelation on the radio! It's not quite clear if the plant's on the right track here, but lord they're actually seeming a little intelligent for a moment as they rave into their radio about potential theories for their hunting targets.

    "Floran fix ssstupid disssguise plan!" They then declare, setting down into immediately sniffing at the aged corpse to memorize their scent. Planning on stealing that guy's fatigues? Whoever it is, whatever they look like, hopefully the Floran can track the heavy scent of this particular soldier on their clothes when they hunt them.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl nods to Souji. "It did seem like he was going to hurt this Cachino. I am ignorant of most of what is happening, but a fight I can break up. I leave this area to you both." He bows his head quickly to Souji and Johnny before racing after Nero!

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @BITEBLADE:

    THE SCENT! Oh dear it's mingled around in here, that's for sure, but there's a definate trail leading out of the room, upstairs and...

    The hunting skills of the plantperson really REALYL surprise the thugs upstairs who confusedly draw guns as the crazy hunter starts to spread out. Okay, there's a bunch of smells up here in the strip club upstairs, actually quite a bit over by where the tough guys are hanging out by thier little security room. "Can we help you, lady?"

    NOPE, more trail. Out into the casino floor itself, with patrons and guests and everyone looking very excited at Bite and then...

    There's a whole bunch more of that smell right up at the receptionist's desk. She looks very surprised, and squeaks. "OH! Did you find something that can help?"

    She smells a lot like the dead man. Before the dead man was dead. Oh dear.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    NERO AND CACHINO:

    As people go tearing off pell mell after Nero and his goons, there's a commotion from somewhere downstairs about a crazy plant mutant running around, which gets more of the thugs to start moving, and that draws everyone off from...

    Nero hasn't gotten far, actually as his thugs run off to deal with Biteblade. He's got a fellow bleeding out of an eye socket on the upper floor of the strip club's lounge area, not even yelling. A cold and quiet beating. "The fuck, Cachino, she wasn't yours to work with, what the fuck do you think you were fucking doing? Just getting your fucking dick wet, like usual." A kick in the ribs for good measure, and Cachino slumps over to the floor.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    "Not worth the effort to reassemble." Rory declares, retracting the fractal digits. Somehow the little tendrils completely clean themselves before reassembling into the full glove and she pulls back, glances at what Biteblade's found... "S. Dawnhill? Unless it's missing something or he misidentified himself, this isn't the man we're looking for... but still very important! ... This isn't Michael, right?" She's now looking confusedly between Biteblade and Kotone in case they know something she missed.

    But with Bitelade going -back- the way they came she glances confusedly at Kotone and just... starts following...

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    SOUJI!

    The last notes on the pad of paper... uh. Very, very clear, concise set of letters. Groups of five. Over and over and over.

    This lady was writing something with a one-time pad, or something similar.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Floran isss all good. Shhhh. Lissstening to sssmellss." Biteblade stops to shush the thugs. "Thanksss though." And then right back away! Crawling around. Then they get to the woman. Biteblade sniffs, sniffs, sniffs... "Oh! Underssstandss." Back to Rory, "Sssee, iss fake name. Many matesss, many namesss. Hi!" Biteblade's back to the receptionist.

    "Floran found Michael. Friend, Rory, or Kotone, will explain!" And Biteblade just... Immediately saddles one of them with the duty of explaining this horrible tragedy to the woman. You finish the quest! Meanwhile, Seft and Pavo are trying to catch up while Biteblade keeps on following! They were originally mostly hoping just to catch a scent they could pick up on the monorail or at Camp McCarran, but this works perfectly fine too.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl runs right past all the hubbub that seems to be happening. Once her heard about a 'plant mutant' he figured out what it was. Nothing to worry about, he has a possible homicide to stop.

     When he catches up to Nero, Original Face quickly scans the situation. This Cachino is hurt, but he might pull through with treatment. Coming up behind Nero, he places his hand on the boss's shoulder and sternly pulls him away from the slumped man.

     "Mister Nero. I think you have made your point quite clearly," he says in a cold tone as he stares hard at Nero's face. "But, think what the customers would say if a man was brutalized on-site. Word travels fast after all." At times like these, an appeal to the wallet works best, he finds.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    EVERYONE:

    Nero ROARS at Eryl as he tries to give sound advice. "GET OUT OF MY FUCKING CASINO. PLUG YOUR FUCKING HOLE AND LEAVE. I WILL MAKE YOU LEAVE AND DON'T THINK I WON'T. NOW."
    And indeed, every thug ever in the place is now trying to hurry all of the Courier's compatriots out the front of the casino.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa nods to Rory for a moment as she moves to get up and now leave here. She's got the name and she nods. to her. "No way to tell however we should get going."

With that Kotone is heading back up after Biteblade with Rory right behind her.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Woah-hohohoh, okay, rude. I can tell when I'm not wanted, sure." George is saying. As ever, his humor is dissonant with the situation completely. His face, on the other hand is purely grim. As they're being hurried out, George relays some theorized facts about this situation over the radio and lets himself be hustled out the front door alongside the rest of the gang, though Albert and Moonfin stayed behind in the other room. They'll be heading out via the wardrobe, plugging it with a huge mass of blastproof metal along the way.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa nods to Rory for a moment as she moves to get up and now leave here. She's got the name and she nods. to her. "No way to tell however we should get going."

With that Kotone is heading back up after Biteblade with Rory right behind her. She gets up to the point where Nero is raging at all of them she raises her hands up and nods for a moment and is going to get out with out any fight but she will swat of if any of the thugs get too touchy however, she is going however.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji looks at the pad, his brows furrowing. He knows what he's looking at. this is a problem. "John." He carefully removes the page and shows it to the Courier. "A whore does not generally know how to do proper crptography. We need to find the woman. She is more than she appears."

He hears the yelling, and frowns. "It appears we have run out of time, unless we wish to... press our luck." He frowns. He's not in favor of this.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Even in the face of yelling and vulgarities, Eryl is the model of polite perfection. He simply nods his head, quickly checks to make sure Cachino is not going to bleed out immediately during the motion and quickly makes for the doors.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    Souji:
    Johnny growls, and nods Souji towards the hole behind the Wardrobe. "I'm not about to do that. The Omertas follow Omerta, the concept. We've already fuckin' breached that coming in here and we're... past the point of being good neighbors." As if that was at all what was going on here. There's nothing good here.

Rory White (673) has posed:
    Confused by Kotone's silence and being left alone by Biteblade with a squeaky secretary.... Rory shakes her head at her. "... I'm sorry, miss. We found him, but.... he's the victim of a murder. That's why he hasn't come out..." She's speaking softly, but at the same time making a variety of notes and recommendations for the Casino's security. Not that it will likely help or be heeded.

    This place is a nuthouse by her standards.

    Leaving the explanation to Rory might not've been the smartest thing to do.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    @Albert:

    Johnny blinks a bit. "Wait wait wait. Ablert, you guys... I've seen you evaporate chairs and shit from your Manipulators. Can you do the reverse?"
    He looks knowingly at the rest of the crap in the Hotel Room.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    There's a quick grunt from Albert, who was left here. "We will scour it bare." He says, simply. And both he and Moonfin just... Set their Matter Manipulators to Harvest and then take everything. The room is rendered down to bare walls and floors and ceiling. Convenient!

    And THEN they head out, blocking up the tunnel with a huge mass of solid steel to prevent anyone else from ever coming this way again!

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji has no idea what Omerta means, but he figures it out through context. "Then we need to move. Do what you need to do, then we will leave." He turns to Albert, and holds out a hand. "Haste-1." An orange glow surges around him, infusing him with some temporal acceleration effects to speed him up in his stealing everything. Souji then turns and begins walking out as if nothing is going on.

Courier Six (32) has posed:
    NEXT TIME, ON NEW VEGAS ADVENTURES

    The bright, cheery interior of Vault 21's gift shop, and a very perky young blonde lady. "Welcome to the 21! What can I do for you?"
    A worn out, run down gambler in a Vault 21 Jumpsuit grumbles. "There ain't' nothin' left for you to take, Courier, you and your boss done stole everything from us. Now get out."

    A redhead, silhouetted by the cheery glow of that mysterious Securitron. "You know I literally can't lie to you, right? He has no idea what's going on, really! Just stop it, please. Or whatever you want to do, you know? THAT'S FINE WITH ME!" The woman raises a gun and shoots out the monitor, and the Securitron falls over, quite lifeless.

    A panning shot of the Vault 21 Motel sign. STAND HARD ON 17!