Bianca's office

[FG Admin]

Bianca was once more surprised to see the redhead man standing in her door. As he asked if the offer was still on the table she replied with, "Need a pen?" she offered it to him to sign the papers. This time she left her laptop open, she had a few questions.

'Agent missing the item? So he did steal it. At least now he is seeing things my way. Let's see what he's gotten himself into. If he needs help this might be bigger than what Carson told me!'


Bianca's charming smile returned to her face as she waited for him to settle in before asking about the strange information he had. "So, what is this Noer company? You say you work for them?
I can't seem to find any information about this place..."

[Bernard]

(( ESP roll- Gone Fishing – roll = 58 success ))

Almost before he had fully announced his intention came the eager offer to provide him with a pen. “That’s OK.” Bernard declared holding up a fistful of papers as he settled back into the chair across from Bianca. The employment papers are already signed. But…”

Before he had finished his revised pitch, the reporter cut in with a series of questions and statements relating to the tidbit he had purposefully dropped during his recent departure.
“So what is this N.O.E.R. Company?”
“You say you work for them?”
I can’t seem to find any information about this place.” She fired off the information in rapid succession.

“I DIDN’T say I worked for anyone.” Bernard remarked with an increasing smile studying his challenger. “Judging by your query, you possess no awareness to the acronym I provided. New Ortega Experimental Research is not a company as speculated but a program. Now,… before we talk regarding the monetary aspect of our proposed relationship allow me to give you a peek at what I have to offer.” Bernard opened the laptop accessing the list of files before displaying it predominately upon the desktop in front of the reporter.

“Thirteen encrypted files.” The red headed Sensitive proudly proclaimed. “It may or may not amount to much but it does give us a place to start.”

[FG Admin]

Bernard didn't need to read Bianca's mind because her thoughts were pretty clear. Her eyes sparkled with interest as he showed her the laptop. Curiosity and excitement was all but radiating from her. "I'm going to go to jail for this... and lose my job..."

She leaned forward to get a closer look. "But I don't care because this is too big to pass up. Have you told anyone else about this?
I hope not, otherwise we could have trouble coming this way. We will probably need to go some place a bit safer than here."
she scanned some of the files and squinted her eyes.

'I'm not sure what a lot of this means. Looks like logs for some type of project... But I'm not sure what it is. I've never heard of any of this before...'

"Okay, I say we get to work in hacking those files and see what's inside. I'd like to keep the numbers small with everyone involved, but it could take us all day if this is really secure. I've got a friend that is better at this type of stuff, so if you don't mind I'll send him an email real quick and get him over here."

She pressed a few buttons on her laptop and brought up a new browser window. "I have so many questions I need to ask you right now, but I don't even know where to start. So I'll ask them all- Where did you get this? Who did you get it from? How did you get it? And if you don't work for N.O.E.R, where did you hear about it?
You'll need to catch me up quick, because if this is stolen information and Hydra knows you're here we could both be dead by the end of the day..."

[Bernard]

Despite her training, the veteran reporter was an open book at this point. There was little doubt from the way Bianca beamed with excitement that she would be able to walk away from this empty handed now. She was hooked and manipulative Sensitive knew it. He simply shook his head in difference to her inquiry regarding any previous propagation of the information, but given her focus upon the object in front of her, the motion had gone unnoticed. It was only after a few added moments of silence did she look up from the laptop to further discuss a plan.

"Okay, I say we get to work in hacking those files and see what's inside. I'd like to keep the numbers small with everyone involved, but it could take us all day if this is really secure. I've got a friend that is better at this type of stuff, so if you don't mind I'll send him an email real quick and get him over here."

“Works for me.” Bernard declared in simplistic agreement to the proposal. “I was thinking much along the same lines myself.” He had barely got through his statement when her excitement bubbled over into another series of questions. This time the reporter’s thoughts seemed to be upon verifying the source of the information.

”It all just kind of fell into my lap really. The laptop belonged a Hydra agent that parked beside me at the bar last evening. Oblivious greenhorn was way out of his element and I witnessed him handing over a thumb drive to his partner who disappeared into the back. I assume for an exchange with one of the other Aces since you had Carson occupied with other matters. Long story short, during our unceremonious escort from the premises at the request of one of the staff, I took the liberty to snatch the briefcase from right under his nose.”

”Now, how about you sharing a little while we wait for your friend to respond? You can begin by opening up your wallet and springing for lunch. I’m hungry.”

”Perhaps then we can discuss the dollars and cents to our collaboration.”

[FG Admin]

Bianca listened to his story with interest. While he talked she typed out a quick message to her friend asking him to meet her. Since Bernard said he was hungry she decided the perfect place for all of them to meet would be at the Casa del Luna. She smiled at his comment and nodded her head.

"Lunch it is. First, I need those signed papers. Don't worry, if you work for me I'll keep you safe. Everything we do from now on will be confidential. I don't think we should show our faces at the club for awhile because the agent might go back there to look for you. I say we go to Casa del Luna to grab a bite. My friend will meet us there and will help us crack the files. We can talk more there."

Bianca noticed that he avoided her question about N.O.E.R, but she didn't press the matter. She would ask more questions about it later. Her guess was that these documents might answer some of her questions anyway, so she reached over and grabbed her coat. "Ready? After you."

She stood from her chair and headed for the elevator.
"I'll drive."

((Next stop Casa del Luna? If so you can post on the street for them to drive there. NPCs drive pretty fast. ))

[Bernard]

“Working for you will keep me safe? I find it hard to believe that a little ink scrolled across these pages will be able secure my wellbeing any more than it could save yours. Only moments ago you indicated pursuit of this would likely find us both killed. If you are unable to protect yourself, how do you propose to protect me?” Regardless of his skepticism, Bernard handed over the crumpled mass of papers from his hand. The content was comprised of a series of truths and half-truths; the most notable exclusions involved his employment history, current address and of course, the waver that would nullify any potential ownership of his find.

Scooping up the laptop he had placed upon the reporter’s desk Bernard quickly stuffed the item back into the briefcase as they prepared to leave. It wasn’t until they began to depart the underground parking facility did he begin to speak once again. It was also during that brief journey the red-headed story teller informed Bianca of his introduction to N.O.E.R.; a tale contained details of the dying bid of an apparent homeless victim and the package he was lead to find.

“Is an establishment such as Casa del Luna the proper place to meet your friend and crack these files?” Bernard challenged as they neared the eatery. “Besides, should we really be seen anywhere in public together given the nature of our pursuit? This place is likely crawling with agents.”

((To be continued at Casa del Luna))