....
One of the monks sat on a bench while the other man stood nearby next to a pond, tossing bread to the ducks that are floating around in lazy circles. Spark joined the man on the bench and initiated a conversation. The man, speaking Russian, took up the talk. He offered the names of monks taken, noting that some came back but were unstable. They couldn't, he said, mediate anymore, unable to maintain calm and connection. Those who returned had greatly improved power but were chaotic, unpredictable and dangerous. He also confirmed the black site's location: the campus we'd been to. It wasn't the only site, they noted. Spark asked about other sites but the monk said the other one he knew about didn't seem to operate anymore. "We do know of another one, though I'm not sure how active it is now. It was the site of the first meeting we ever had. The main one know is attached to the school."
The monk asked Spark and Blitz some questions of his own. First he wanted to know our involvement in the situation. Spark recalled to him how the Russians stole tech research secrets from her. The subject of Blitz's mother's story also came up. It didn't seem to ring a bell with the monk. Blitz seemed to be detached, likely drifting in Astral space during the exchange. My teammates also confirmed how to return to them any monks we rescue. Spark tried to offer them a secure comm unit but they rejected it, saying the method we had already used to communicate with them was adequate. With that, the monks wished us well in our mission and took their leave. "I hope you are prosperous in your endeavor."
We stayed in the motel room the rest of the day and night, scheming. What to do with Albina? How soon do we hit the black site? Because I wanted to flee the city basically as soon as we hit the black site I suggested we follow the lead on Albina first.
Using his computing skills Blitz found Albina's home address, corp housing on site at the company complex.
Meanwhile, Spark did some research about the campus, and found a side entrance to the building we wanted to raid. She did some digital casing of the site to find it. She plotted a course that would allow us to move around the campus stealthily based on a knowledge of the security.
My job was to plan a route out of the city once we'd hit the black site. The important part was to make pursuit as difficult as possible in case we were followed. I found a winding path that used some local wetlands to cover our getaway. There was even a good spot to drop off any monks we rescue. The key was not having to go back on the ferry after the mission so we were limited to leaving the city on that side of the river.
The next morning I took Blitz to Albina's corp complex. He was exceptionally nervous so I urged him to go Astral. He got out of the van and headed her way, and I circled the area in the vehicle. He approached her as she walked to the office. When she saw him she reacted in a visceral manner. "No, no, no, no....." backing up and walking fast away from him. Her messenger bag swung as she accelerated. She weaved toward other pedestrians. "Please, Albina," Blitz begged. "I need to know. I need to talk to you."
Albina stopped and turned back to him. She looked him square in the face. She warned him off with a hand gesture, keeping him five meters away from her. Blitz went to sit at a nearby bench. She stood close to the bench without engaging, looking around with her hand in her pocket working at her phone. "I don't know if you want to know," she told him. Blitz: "I have to know. If you know something about Emilia, please tell me." Albina replied: "She's out there but I don't know if you want to see her this way." She shook her head sorrowfully. "I've probably said too much." She turned to go and a small cred stick fell from her pocket as she fumbled with her phone. Blitz left, and scooped up the cred stick with a fake shoe-tying maneuver.
