Follow the Money

Fear nods at the robot, "Thank you very much for your assistance." Fear returns the press badge to Nadia and says, "So much for that I guess." Fear shrugs, "Only one last lead I suppose. The reporter mentioned something about stepping through a teleporter into a warehouse. She also has some photographs of some warehouses and a truck with a license plate number. Might be worth looking into."

"Holy shit, what?" Nadia exclaims, putting all ten fingers to her head in the universal gesture that indicates 'head exploding.'

"So when I asked if she had pictures of anything useful--! Why didn't she open with that? Gah! So Constance called this random girl for pics and she ends up at the EXACT PLACE we've been looking for all goddamn day and SHE has the nerve to give ME shit for not calling the detective--and for a thing we can't have anyway--because this is 'time sensitive'?! Who the fuck--"

She crumples the photo of her hanging off the bank into a tiny ball and hurls it into the corner. She stands for a moment, facing away from the others, watching the ball bounce across the floor. Damn it Nadia, get your shit together, we've been doing this for only twelve hours so far...

Shade pipes up cautiously. "So... We've got a potential address... Do we assume that it's too dangerous to just let the cops walk into? I suppose we could have them run plates on the truck at least?" He seems eager to smooth over the emerging tensions.

I knew it those two are getting more and more suspicious by the minute Archangel thinks to herself crossing her arms in front of her. "Why don't WE just check the plates? I'm sick of this whole lets check in with mom and dad crap."

"But it's against the rul--" Nadia stops and shakes her head. "No, fine, I'm not calling again literally thirty seconds later. Okay. Technically he said he didn't mind civilians getting involved, so I'll choose to accept that as tacit permission to do this on our own." She pauses to straighten the collar of her blouse. "Let's do this. Can you run the plates here?" She indicates the ORACLE desk, glancing at Fear.

Meanwhile, Logan organizes her notes on another clean page. She makes them into a list, with little boxes next to the ones that involve tasks. If Constance is still outside with her, she is welcome to read over Logan's shoulder.
The list reads:

- Enhanced (shh!)
- Police also have my pics.
- Warehouse 17 (bomb went off, probably useless inside) (check rental history for user)
- 938-J__ (run plate for potential match)
- What do they want with the money? (just thieves, or dangerous? If dangerous, how soon?)
The last point, she tacks on as kind of an afterthought:
- Bad guys have robots, too.

"Possibly, I'm not sure of the capabilities of the ORACLE computers. Worst case scenario I can try later at my own computer setup." Fear will walk to the computer lab and attempt to access license plate numbers and records of the vehicle. He specifically looks for trucks in the registry.

{{Computers: d10: (8, 2) -2 encryption?, +4 interface/code breaker = 10}}

Fear taps away at the keyboard and pulls up DMV records that match the partial plates, he sorts through the partial matches discarding anything that isn't a truck. Eventually he comes down to two matches luckily both are registered to the same owner 'Lucky Jack's Rentals' located in the city. A quick search later and Fear finds it to be a truck and light machinery rental business. Address in hand he returns to the others in the lobby to reveal what he has found.

"You wanted a lead, we've got a lead. Rental truck. I've got the address right here. Shall we wall over and take a look?" Fear asks the group, showing the address to the others.

"I'm game. I might swing back to my place on the way, pick up my gear. Meet you there?" Shade begins heading towards the exit.

"Sounds like a good start." Glad to have a focus, Nadia starts to follow Shade's lead, then looks back at Fear. "Maybe print out the picture of Alexander Fistpuncher Petrovich, or just be ready to pull it up on your phone, in case someone at the rental place recognizes him?"

"I've got one from earlier still, I'll be sure to bring it with. See you all there." Fear walks towards the exit with Nadia and Shade.

The group inside the ORACLE building departs with the robot attendant calling out "Have a nice day." as they depart. Outside they find Trevor, Constance, and Logan still conversing as Logan writes on her pad of paper. Archangel stretches briefly as her spectral orange wings expand from her back with a lazy salute to the rest of the group she soars up into the sky. Once again activating the communicator in her helmet she says to Shade "I'll go check out the place but I'll wait for somebody else to make the approach, I'll keep an eye out for you but give me a heads up when you're in range again."

"Sounds like a plan." Shade makes his way back to his soup kitchen and walks through the heavily locked and barred door to enter his tiny HQ, where he retrieves his shotgun and beanbags. He loads up, checks the safety, and heads back over towards the rental agency.

Logan catches Fear as he exits the ORACLE building, thrusting her list into his hands. She added onto the bottom of the page: Any progress? and Do you have my pass?

Fear hands her the address, "I got this from the plates on that truck, this is where the truck was rented from, we're heading over there now to investigate. About the press pass..." Fear turns to Nadia and says, "Could Ms. Brynmore get her press pass back please?"

Nadia wordlessly hands the pass to Fear and takes off, following Archangel into the sky.

Fear hands the pass back to Logan, "Hope to see you and the others there." Fear nods and gets in his car, pulling out of the parking lot and heading back to his apartment to grab some extra ammo before leaving.

Logan's face lights up at the return of her pass. While the others take off, Logan scribbles a note to those who are left: Everyone's going to same place? She twists her face into a look of mild distress. Is that really necessary?

Trevor walks back out shortly after walking in, having only caught the tail end of the conversation, and reads Logan's note. "Not unless you think the rental guy is involved. I'm betting no. Any other leads we can work on right now or should I just chill and wait for them to call?"

Hope they check rental history, not just owner, Logan writes. She's going to need a new notepad soon. Logan tears out the page with her list and scribbles out a couple lines.
She shows Trevor her new note and the list, which now only shows the following concerns:
- Warehouse 17 (bomb went off, probably useless inside) she circled: (check rental history for user)
- What do they want with the money? (just thieves, or dangerous? If dangerous, how soon?)
- Bad guys have robots, too.

Archangel sets off in the direction of Lucky Jack's Rentals soaring up past the tallest buildings around and making a direct line for the address. Keeping an eye out she spots Nadia following along. The two make quick time, the store is in a less reputable part of the Old Town district across the river. The buildings are lower here so the two descend to avoid being seen for miles around. Nearing the location they easily spot a building with a small billboard bearing a shamrock with wheels logo noting the lot as Lucky Jack's Rentals. A small nondescript grey concrete building is situated near the front with a small customer parking lot. The windows have bars and the parking lot is cracked with sprigs of grass and weeds growing through. Coming from either side of the building and wrapping back and around is a tall chain link fence with barbed wire around the top. A section of the fence has been swapped with fresh looking plywood boards spanning several feet, large enough for a vehicle. Archangel picks out a payday loan building across the street and few buildings down from their target and lands on the roof. Sits on the edge of the building and makes no move to hid herself waiting to see if Nadia will follow her or do something else.

---

Shade makes his way to his hideout and gears up uneventfully easily slipping through traffic on his bike. On his way back to his bike one of the regular visitors to his soup kitchen, an older war vet named Phil, flags him down to tell him "Some chick with green hair was here earlier asking about you, sounds like she was looking to talk. She didn't leave a number or anything just said she'd try again later." he gives Shade a rough description of a woman around six foot or a bit more with shoulder length green hair wearing a t-shirt for some band and a pair of jeans.

---

Fear heads to his apartment, slow going Midday on a Monday. He grabs his supplies and starts making his way to the rental place.

Nadia lands behind Archangel, her rockets retracting as she walks up to perch beside her on the roof. She lets out a simulated sigh, which comes out more like a loud "Fooooo!" noise through her voice synthesizer. "So," she jokes nonchalantly to the other woman, "how much do you trust this ragtag bunch of dysfunctional misfits to solve the case?"

Archangel stares at the cyborg for a moment, her blank golden helm revealing nothing of her expression behind. Normal human and non glowing green eyes peer out from the triangular holes in the helm.
"I'm not sure." she replies, "I don't know much about any of you and personally I'm more of a crime in progress kind of gal rather than a Super Sleuth. Personally I think there is something going on with this collection of Capes beyond this bank robbery, I don't trust some of them but they mostly seem capable at least." as she talks her wings fold in close to her back then ruffle out and fold in more smoothly in a very bird like way while she readjusts the dark orange armor on her torso.

Nadia, who had expected something a bit more sarcastic and dismissive, blinks once or twice at Archangel with her head cocked slightly to one side. "Well," she says with a shrug, "that's better than nothing, I guess."

Absently she pushes down a pair of tabs on her left elbow, disconnecting her forearm just below the joint. "All I can say is that I certainly wouldn't be up here if I still had a normal job... I'm not sure I'm cut out for this," she adds, more quietly. She holds the arm up to her face, blowing imaginary dust particles out of the mechanism, before snapping it back into place. "I just don't like the idea of people skulking around watching us, first the cloak guy and now this photographer person, whoever she is. Who knows how many random invisible stalkers our inimitable troop has by now? It hasn't even been 24 hours yet, there could be more." She works the fingers of her reattached hand experimentally.