The Run Down Under/Gettin' Giggy with Shadowrun - Thursday, August 31st, 2006

The next morning, Michelle went out and got a new phone to replace the one she had destroyed. Once she had it and got her contact information - at least what she could remember - entered back into it, she called Giggy to find out what had happened after she lost contact with them.

"Hello," Giggy groaned, obviously still half asleep and hung over.

"What did you guys do last night?" she asked.

"Got Italian food and strippers," Giggy replied. "Why?"

"Well, where's Fixer?"

"I don't know. Buckwheat and Rainbow were going after him, and we haven't heard from them this morning."

"All right. Thanks. I'll call Rainbow." Michelle hung up the phone and tracked down Rainbow's number.

Rainbow came by a while after Michelle called to pick her up. They went over to Jake's where Buckwheat and Rainbow had dropped off Fixer the night before so that Michelle could see how he was doing.

---

Later that morning, Timmy got a phone call. He didn't recognize the phone number, so he answered it cautiously, audio only.

"Hello?"

"Hello," the light male voice on the other end of the line replied. "We met last night in the Centennial Cathedral. You made a delivery for us."

"Yes, I'm listening."

"We need someone to make another collection on our behalf. Would you be interested."

"What's the pay?" Timmy asked.

"Services get out tomorrow at eleven. Why don't you meet us at a quarter after in the same place and we can talk it over."

"All right, eleven fifteen, then."

The line went dead as the man on the other end hung up.

Timmy went down the hall to the kitchen where Giggy was cleaning up from the food the previous night.

"We've got a meet at 11:15 at Centennial Cathedral again," Timmy said.

"Well, don't just stand there," Giggy replied, "Call people. It's already after ten."

Timmy called Rainbow and Michelle. Buckwheat wasn't answering his phone. It wasn't far from Jake's to Ming and Giggy's, so Rainbow and Michelle just headed over there. When they weren't waiting outside when he got there, Rainbow sent Michelle in to get them.

Michelle called Rainbow after Timmy explained that it was tomorrow at 11:15, not today...

---

The next day the group showed up at the cathedral at 11:15, and worked their way through the crowd of worshipers leaving the parking area and still mingling on the sidewalk under the shade trees around the building. The downstairs entrance looked much less foreboding in daylight.

They entered and went down the dark stairs and through the beaded curtain at the bottom. This morning there was a stout oaken table and six chairs in the room, which was now only lit by the light of a dozen or so candles scattered throughout the room. Seated in one of the six chairs at the table was a blond elf in a priest's cassock. he gestured to the empty chairs around the table, but did not get up.

Timmy walked up to the table, and poured some wine from the decanter in the center of the table into one of the six glasses and took a seat. The others took seats as well, and then the priest poured wine for the rest of them.

"We are in need of professional assistance in collecting some money owed to us," the priest began without preamble.

"Someone has been stingy in their tithing?" Giggy asked.

"You could put it that way," the priest replied. "As I said, we're looking for someone to go into collections."

"What does it pay?" Rainbow asked.

"Twenty-five percent."

"Twenty five percent of what?" Rainbow asked again.

"Of whatever you can collect."

"OK," Giggy started, "Can we assume that's 25% of lots and lots?"

"Sure."

"OK, who do we collect from?"

"They call themselves the Illuminated Order."

"OK, where?"

"They have a compound north of Sydney," the elf replied. "You may want to start there."

"What's the time frame?" Rainbow asked.

"That could be negotiated."

"Well, we wouldn't want to be pressured too much."

"How much time do you need?"

"Well, probably, like, a week to provide time for various circumstances."

"Very well. A week from today, then. Meet me here," the elf said. "Thank you for coming."

They all got up quietly and walked back out into the bright Sydney daylight. As they got into the van, Giggy and Michelle got out their pocket secretaries and started looking up information on the Illuminated Order.

Consolidating their notes as they got to Giggy's place, they had found that they had been trying to establish extraterritoriality for nearly a decade and that they were somewhat militant. Giggy had tracked down the compound the priest had referred to as most likely 2478 E. Melbourne Place in Beecroft.

Rainbow sent his rotodrone out to look over the property while Giggy and Michelle looked for more information. Giggy and Timmy were debating whether to try to sneak in some how or to just try an assault on the property.

"Hey," Michelle called, "I think I've found something. It looks like they have recruiting meetings outside of their compound, and one's coming up tomorrow night."

"Yeah, I guess that 40-some people wasn't really enough to accomplish whatever they are trying to accomplish," Giggy said.

"But that still doesn't get us to their money, or even inside their compound," Timmy illucidated.

"It does," Giggy clarified, "give us the opportunity to see some of their people, and possibly for one of us to get sponsored..."

---

A short time later, Rainbow was able to describe the compound to them. It was a walled estate covering about half a section, with walled or fenced properties of similar size on three sides. The fourth, one of the narrow sides, is what faced E. Melbourne Place.

---

When they went to the meeting the next night, a young woman whose name tag declared her to be "Tracy" greeted them each from behind a table at the door. She had a wide, painted smile and large, white teeth. She spoke with a deep, breathy voice, and exaggerated her enunciation on every word.

"Hi," she expounded when Giggy walked in.

"Um, hi."

"What's your name?" she asked in her overly friendly manner.

"Um, Larry," Giggy replied.

"Hi, Larry, I'm Tracy," she explained, obviously assuming that he could not read her name tag.

"Here's your name tag, Larry," she continued, handing him the sticker, meanwhile, handing him a clipboard and pen, "If you'll just put your full name, your address, and your phone number here, that would be great!"

She turned to Timmy, who happened to be next in line. "Hi," she started again. "What's your name?"

"Uh... Keith," Timmy replied.

"Great, Keith," she replied. "My name's Tracy. Have you met Larry?"

"Um, no, I..."

"Here's your name tag, Keith.

"If you'll just put your name, address, and phone number here," she continued, handing him another clipboard.

"Here's this back," Giggy said, returning his clipboard. "Do you have any coffee?"

"Coffee?" Tracy replied, taken aback. "Heavens no! but if you're thirsty, there's some water and some punch on the table over there, please feel free to help yourself!"

"Punch?" Timmy perked up. "What kind?"

"Why, I do believe it's boysenberry tonight," Tracy replied chipper as ever.

As the evening progressed, they all took seats for what seemed to be an ecstatic, over the top, evangelistic presentation. Giggy was called onto the stage at one point to confess his evil ways and embrace his personal salvation.

After the big presentation, Giggy and Rainbow were talking in the back, wearing their Larry and Antono name tags respectively, discussing options and watching the four representatives of the Illuminated Order who were present - or at least overtly present.

Father Bob, the man who had given the presentation and worked up the frenzy in the crowd was talking to Timmy. Rainbow and Giggy observed that he and Tracy, who had worked the desk, moved with an elevated degree of precision, and both looked like they knew how to handle themselves in a fish.

Michelle came up to Giggy and Rainbow and handed Rainbow a glass of water.

"Well, how much longer do we want to stay here?" she asked.

"Boy, Mary," Rainbow replied, looking at her name tag quickly, "I don't think we want to be the first to leave."

"We won't be. People have been leaving for twenty minutes."

"Hey," Giggy interrupted, "Where's Timmy?"

They looked around quickly. Timmy had gone, and so had Father Bob, Tracy, and the two other people that Rainbow was sure were already with the Order.

"Maybe it is time to go," Rainbow conceded.

They walked outside and scanned the paring lot. They didn't see a sign of Timmy. Nor was there any vehicle that was obviously the property of the Order.

"You two catch a cab," Rainbow said. "I'll stay and watch for anything."

Rainbow got into the van as Giggy and Michelle walked off to flag down a taxi. A few minutes later, Rainbow deployed his drone to return to the compound and watch for anyone entering, while he sat in the back seat and watched cars leave the lot.

---

Timmy was deep in conversation with Father Bob. In fact, it didn't even occur to him that he should let Michelle or someone know he was leaving, it just seemed so natural to go outside with Bob and get in the car. They kept talking for quite a while when the car turned into a short driveway and into a garage. The door closed behind them. It was late at night.

They got out of the car and went into the house. Father Bob introduced Timmy (as Keith) to Jacob and Leo, then explained that he had to go and would be back in the morning, but if he needed anything, just let Jacob or Leo know.

Then Father Bob left.

---

Rainbow left the parking lot before it completely emptied out, but it was still a few hours before his drone reported a car pulling into the compound in Beecroft. A quick check confirmed that it was a vehicle that had been at the meeting. Rainbow watched as it drove down the private road and into the garage. He watched for a couple of hours, but nobody left the garage to go to the main hours or either of the outbuildings in the compound.

---

To be continued?

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