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[Chevaleresse]

Mahnomen, Columbia
Customs and Excise
Operational Crew: Kagura, Aquarius, Headbanger, Fox, Espresso, Hooch
Time: 7:00 AM

Hooch's crew arrived just in time for the morning rush hour to hit. After a thorough prodding for concealed weapons (of which they had plenty) and licenses (of which they had few) and a hurried exchange of words and a letter indicating Roar Nightclub had cleared the red tape for them in advance, they made it out of customs with their dignity mostly intact. Their contact wasn't set to meet with them for another two hours or so, which left them with the seemingly simple task of navigating the city.

Mahnomen, however, was not the easiest to navigate. Formed of smaller cities that had banded together some years past, it showed a staggering variety of people and architecture, and the locations through which it roamed made it a prominent point of exchange between Columbia and Kazimierz - which is why they were there, of course. The various districts blended together and separated seemingly at random, and most of the locals were more concerned with getting to work on time than helping a group of eclectic mercs apparently on the edge of killing one another get to a meeting.

Hooch's cell buzzed. A notification: Roar Knightclub had helpfully sent them an annotated map. It covered the entire city and had markings indicated as "incident sites," as well as small notes mentioning whether areas were generally safe to travel through or not. They could cut through the Infected slums to get to their destination - a high-class cafe - faster by cutting across the meandering district it resided in, or simply try to squeeze into the public transit system.

[AzyWng]

Hooch

The bartender-turned mercenary nodded to herself as she read the map she'd received. Moving towards the rest of the group and putting her cell in a secure pocket, she said, "All right. Looks like we've got two main ways to get to the meeting spot. We can either cut across the district, through the Infected slums, or we can try to use public transport-" Hooch looked over at the crowds of people lining up at the stations- "as crowded as it is. Personally, I'm in favor of heading through the Slums. Yes, it could be dangerous, but we'll probably get there faster, and as long as we stick together, we should be all right. We might even get a little more familiar with this place, which'll undoubtedly be helpful for our investigation. But I want to get your opinions before we make a decision." Hooch looked closely at each team member, checking to see how they were doing.

[Chevaleresse]

Headbanger

A flurry of fingers tapping on a screen answered Hooch in short order. <Let's just get through the slums. I'm not getting packed in with even more people.> The Feline's ears laid back against her head, a futile effort to drown out the din. Her tails lashed in tandem, creating a no-walking zone in the small area of their arc. <Couldn't we have come in at night? This stuff is way more fun at night.>

[Strider03]

A nightclub at night. That seemed correct to Fox, though, somewhere in the back of her head a faint mutter insisted that she would not enjoy this. More importantly though, they had time! Free time. Two hours would be a while, yes, Fox considered, plenty of time to go shopping! With a self-satisfied look, she inquired, "Which way would be better for shopping? We could buy ga-. . .stock up on needed supplies, yes."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Kagura

"Eh, wherever you feel like going boss. We've got plenty of time to take a look around Mahnomen" Kagura commented, staring intently at the map given to them, "If I recall correctly, there was this comfy little doughnut shop about..." she began, only to trail off as she looked a bit closer, "Ah wait, that area's in a lockdown, drat. I suppose I'll have to get my snacks another time" the painter said with a small shrug, turning away from the map to tiredly scan the crowd of people before them. It was rather obvious, both due to her nature and by how much she had complained, that Kagura did not enjoy being up this early, especially to deal with having to go through multiple inspections of her person and have to wait two hours for the meeting on top of it.

... In all honesty, she could just curl up where she was and sleep right now, but she was certain that she'd be woken up again in short order. So, staying awake was the only option she had.

[Twinwolf]

Espresso

Espresso stuck with the group pretty well, but she was clearly distracted - she kept looking around, taking in the sights of a new city. She was started out of her reverie as the conversation went on, and shook herself to awareness. "Right, uh, ok! You're the boss, Hooch, so I guess we're going through the slums."

She'd kinda expected to end up on public transit, but she didn't really mind the shift too much. She knew her way around an urban environment, and was quite aware of how packed some places could get, so it made sense they'd take a different route. It wasn't as if they weren't armed, just in case.

[Takosher]

Aquarius

Aquarius winced a bit at both suggestions. Mingling with the infected was a disgusting prospect, as was the idea of being crammed into a crowded bus. If he absolutely had to choose, "I vvote for the slums as well."

[AzyWng]

Hooch

Hooch nodded. Pretty much a unanimous vote. "Don't know how much time going through the slums will take, so let's just focus on getting to the spot first before we think to do anything else. Sound good? Let's go."

And with that, Hooch began to lead the team through the slums, eyes alert for any potential dangers.

[Chevaleresse]

The crowd thinned as the group pushed their way into the Infected districts of the city. While Columbia was better than virtually all its neighbors when it came to treatment of its denizens, the place was still clearly not somewhere one lived by choice. It simply meant that the slum wasn't exclusively Infected, and wasn't quite as infested with ne'er-do-wells as these areas often were, but the tension in the air was unmistakable. A group of armed mercs was out of place at the best of times, and the crowd gave them a wide berth as they moved through. Suspicious eyes watched them from darkened windows and around corners.

The sensation of being tracked only intensified as they went in. Hostile and defensive looks mingled in with the ones that feared or ignored them, and it seemed as if someone had just ducked out of sight whenever they turned around. The feelings were muted by people largely continuing to go about their day around the CES squad, but an undercurrent of threat remained unmistakably present. A few times, it seemed as if someone were going to approach, but such individuals universally changed their minds before actually reaching the party.

[Strider03]

Fox sidled up towards Hooch, and, in a loud whisper stated: "I don't think they like us? I don't get it."

It was very uncomfortable, as no one really likes to be disliked, right? The feline, in response to this added stress, began fiddling with her knife and string, calming herself by the interplay of the two. She flinched, apparently realizing something then, and swiftly put her knife away again.

[AzyWng]

Hooch

Hooch leaned over and, in her own whisper, said, "We're a bunch of heavily armed strangers. I'd be more surprised if we weren't given so much attention. Just stay cautious, okay? If things suddenly get quiet or we get stopped, I want you to be ready."

Hooch herself didn't have much in the way of weapons, but she was still preparing for a fight in her own way - checking for exits and anyone who might pose a threat to the group.

[Strider03]

"Oh. Right." Fox was embarrassed to admit that she'd realized that the weapons might be the issue immediately after asking what the issue was, and so pretended she hadn't thought of it at all.

"Hey Hooch that one is coming close-? Oh. Nevermind." Fox murmured, in response to one of the people seemingly deciding better about approaching the group.

[Chevaleresse]

Headbanger didn't seem to be minding their surroundings one bit, her usual cheery expression present. The only hint the infiltrator gave off of her alertness was her lack of signing or tablet use; both hands were kept free for sudden violence if necessary. She turned to walk backward for a moment, looking for all the world like a bored teenager, and vaguely gestured to something behind the backs of the party, following it with a shrug.

[AzyWng]

Hooch

Hooch raised an eyebrow at Headbanger. "Something the matter?"

[Chevaleresse]

Headbanger

The Feline gestured at Kagura, hoping Hooch would get her attention, and then began signing. [There might be someone following us. People don't usually just change their minds like that. Want me to check it out?] Headbanger sighed internally; once again, her damnable condition was going to make things difficult. This is why I wish I could work alone more. I need my hands for my swords.