Thanks Brom!

I thought we all had hime-made walkies that Fixer made us when we went to that shop just before meeting Charlie for the first time?

Or did I miss something in reading back?

Sorry for my lengthy absence, real life got kinda dark for a bit and I forgot that this game is one of the bright spots.

I don't think Echo has anything quiet to open the window, but she'll shoot thru the glass if you need her to lol 

***As Casino watched the rest of the group below him gather themselves to climb up to join him he smiled as Echo was the first to reach him. The athletic nomad quickly, after a brief smile, continuing past him to gain the lead on Blossom, taking the advanced position. Fixer was next up the line making it, to Casino’s surprise, look easier than any of the others.***

Echo, like Vegas, was also annoyed at the prospect of a clean-up crew on it's way, and she knew they now had to move doubly quick to find the boy, methods be damned. She watched Blossom climb up to the waiting solo, and when she was safely on the the platform, Echo began her own ascent. When she took Casino's offered hand of assistance, she met the eyes of the tall man and gave him a warm smile, then continued up to the designated level, easily passing the pretty netrunner to take the lead to the 8th level. Once there, the nomad peered into the window seeing a typical office building hallway lined with doors and a T intersection at the other end. Not one to know much about methods of disabling security measures that she was sure were in place, Echo took up a guard position to cover those to whom the expertise lies, keeping watch both high and low for any to spoil their entry or call attention to them.

{Edit - Changed color, hope this is better. I thought I had the correct red  }

I recently got laid off from my job, and after a month of looking and feeling depressed about it, I’ve found a new one working for the Mayo Clinc thru one of their contractors! Yay me!!

The Reflection Fighters are on the radio and the bar is filled with the incessant humming of conversation. Patrons from the blue-collar populace have hedged in on the available tables but Echo’s sharp eyes are able to pick the netrunner out from the crowd and the team joins her in the booth with only minor acrobatics.

As the two women's eyes meet, Echo's face breaks into a rare full grin, happy to see the girl after spending the last hours with so much testosterone.

"Hola, Chika!" She says to Blossom, still grinning. "Thanks for saving space."

“Ha!” the chipper little Asian woman laughs at the sodden sight of the rest of her team. She appears to have either dried off already or somehow avoided the rain altogether. “You’re all wet.”

“We are,” Vegas slides in next to her, appropriating the position before the others can. “I’d weather worse to be by your side mon cherie.”

At that, Echo's eyes practically complete a 360 in her head at the crooner, wondering if she should mention his rudeness to the poor doctor to Blossom, but deciding that the pretty Asian might look fragile but could most likely hold her own against him. Besides, she was no telltale - that would be childish and the team didn't need anything to drive a wedge between them. Plus, she had her own issues to deal with.

Scooting into the booth opposite Bloosom, she removes her balacava and grabs a few napkins, trying to dry at least her face and hands, and focuses on putting what little info they gathered from the doc in the forefront of her mind and dismissing Vegas' shortcomings.

“Maybe the surveillance video will be helpful in determining who this kid hung with,” Blossom grins as though she knows something juicy. Pulling out her agent, the wardriver sets it on the table in front of the group, and as she’s activating the software, Bloodbank activates the wireless ordering system.

“I’ll take a Budweiser,” the medtech orders.

“Make that two,” Vegas adds looking down at the open bottle of Heineken in front of the Asian beauty.

"A Coke for me, please," Echo says, not wanting to dull her senses with alcohol. Plus, she disliked the taste of beer, wine was more to her liking.

Minutes pass as he makes his way down to the street and he finds himself approaching the entrance to the mallplex without any trouble. Finding Ghlahn, Cred Stick Charlie, and the others who had gone into the building already there, Casino joins them.

Echo crumpled the now sodden napkins into a ball and set them on the table, when a few more figures arrived at their table. She looked up to see their new team member 'Cred-Stick' Charlie, Ghlahn, and Casino join the ranks, making their group complete once nore. The petite nomad offered a polite nod to Charlie; a brief smile and nod to Ghlahn; and a broader smile and nod to the solo that made her eyes sparkle just as his met hers. Suddenly realizing her gaze lingered too long on him, she grabbed the damp napkins back off the table and dabbed at her arms, blushing. Saved from anyone asking awkward questions by the arrival of their drinks, Elizabeth 'Echo' Cooper focused on her drink, listening to the ideas from the team and agreeing they were all good next steps, and then offered one of her own.

"Blossom", she asked, turning to the woman, "I'm guessing that vid has a timestamp on it? Could you get into their employee schedules and see which female workers were out there that day, and working in that building? That might save a bit of time by hopefully gaining some names without having to chat with the bosses. I feel the less we talk to regular folk", her eyes dart to Vegas and back before she can stop herself, "The less folk might be alerted to us coming about and asking questions."

Echo was glad they didn't find anything at the Carey's place, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy who just had a hard life dealing with his wife's crazy, and seemed truly concerned for the boy's welfare. She was also glad they could pull Vegas' bad attitude towards the doc away, and began to wonder if the crooner was only kind to those he had an itch for - like Blossom.

"Thank the powers that be it ain't me he's sweet on", she thought to herself, rolling her eyes at him behind his back. "Maybe she's like one of them drugs on the street I've heard of for him - he gets all kinds of cranky when he ain't seen her in a while. I hope meetin' up with her will put him in a better mood."

As they filed out of the tiny apartment, Echo made herself the last out, making sure to let the door close a little before turning to the exhausted man. She offered the teacher her tiny hand to shake, and gave a small but heartfelt apology to the man, using the High City proper language that hadn't crossed her lips in years.

"I am most sorry for interrupting your vacation, Doctor Carey," she begins. "Please forgive the missing manners of some of my companions, they really do have Jace's best interests at heart. They are just unused to dealing with those more, um, cultured than themselves. I hope you won't hold that against them - they are good folk."

(OOC - Provided no large response) She gives the man another warm smile, then turns and leaves, closing the door gently behind her.

OOC - Apologies!! I had thought I posted on this update already - apparently not! My week has been nuts since I got laid off a week ago, and they're being asshats about things. But I've got the Dept. of Labor on my side, so they'll get their just deserts.

”Parental rights?”, thought Echo to herself, “The poor kid! What were his parents doing to him to make him want to be away from them?”

Moving to sit near the seemingly shaken man, trying to keep his attention on her so the others can search, Echo softly asks him, “Sir, have you met Jace’s parents at all? Perhaps at teacher conferences or some such?”

(if an affirmative, she will ask the following) “How did they seem - were they interested in how he was doing at school, or concerned in any way?”

“Also, did you happen to notice any friends his age, anyone at all that he spoke to or seemed to hang around with more often?”

Echo waits patiently for his answers with a small smile, trying to keep eye contact with him.

I’ve got my post up now, sorry for the delay - I was having trouble coming up with Echo’s actions, but as I re-read Brom’s post for the billionth time it finally clicked. 😊😊

“How long has Jase been missing?” Phil moves around the couch with a glazed expression, the handgun forgotten in his grip.

“Since yesterday,” Vegas answers while following the thin man’s movements closely with narrowed eyes.

“That’s not good at all,” the professor breathes. “Statistically speaking, the chances of recovering the child alive are reduced dramatically every hour they’re missing.”

“Done your research, Doctor Carey?” Vegas casually accuses.

Phil’s expression turns sharp for the first time since the group entered his apartment. “I teach corporate law, sir. A knowledge of kidnapping insurance and negotiation agency options is required.”

“Of course you would know that, sir”, Echo says gently to the now annoyed man, hoping to calm him back down. “That’s been a well known fact for hundreds of years that anyone with a minimum of intelligence would know”, she says with a glare at the crooner. “Please forgive our gruff ways, we are all genuinely concerned for Jace’s wellfare, and have found very few leads. If there is anything you remember, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, please tell us so we have that better chance of finding him alive.”

Echo finished with what she hoped was a warm smile, and not the anxious terror she felt in her gut from speaking in front of a group, shoving her hands in her pockets to hide how badly they were shaking. She never was one for public speaking, as it usually made her feel nauseous and dizzy, but she couldn’t let Vegas’ accusation stand, it just wasn’t right. She was able to keep eye contact with Dr Carey, trying to give him even more reason to at least trust her, and waited for his answer, if he had one.