"I don't know!" the informant cries between breaths.

(Informant's Bluff: 1d20+7 = 8 VERSUS Aiko's Sense Motive [+3 Skeptical]: 1d20+13+3 = 23)

He's lying. He's a lying liar who lies. It is, in fact, the single worst lie that anyone has ever told Aiko, and in her line of her work, she's been lied to a lot.

(Well, okay, maybe "I didn't steal that tapestry, it just fell out of the window, I swear on the Emperor!" was worse. If only a little bit.)

"Bullshit," Aiko replies. "The Oni isn't subtle, he declares the smallest movement of his bowels."

"Are we *breath* really arguing about this now?" the informant replies. Ah, the good old 'I don't have time to tell you the truth while we're running for our lives' defense.

---

The city guard arrives quickly - too quickly, in Takao's estimation, to have been summoned only when the Blue Oni announced his gambit. The man named Holger is leading a small group of armored guards, Van Synt being nowhere to be seen.

"Check yourself!" he shouts to a few Imperials who have dared to venture into the streets and watch the spectacle. "Ya'll best not split, we's gon' scope your cribs right the fuck now. Anybody holdin' the Blue Oni, you better rap before we regulate on all of you motherfuckers."

"Given I've just killed one of his attack bitches to save your arse, I'd say now is a perfect time," she snaps back. "Or maybe next time saving my own neck--" she leaps gracefully over an obstruction "--becomes more important than screwing with whatever that bastard has planned for you and your boss."

"We're supposed to ignore him!" the informant answers. "Don't touch the Blue Oni and his guys *breath* that was the deal! We didn't know he'd give a damn about Tingarson!"

"Oh, great!" Aiko swears. "You've managed to piss off everyone haven't you."

Takao notes the face of the man who is leading the guards. Since he was here so quickly, maybe he is in Adler's pay to provide a bit of muscled backup?

He then makes good his escape, walking away at moderate pace and relying on the larger number of non-orientals to cover him until he is clear.

On the rooftops above, Kagemaru follows the chase quietly, but it's not too long before he notices he's not alone - another figure is crouched on a beam that hangs above the street. Kagemaru approaches to find that he is one of Adler's runners. The young thief (and he is young - maybe 14, at best) seems startled at the ninja's approach, but visibly relaxes when he sees that the black uniform lacks yellow stripes.

"What are you doing here?" he asks in hushed tones.
Kagemaru sounds bored as he replies. "Patrol duty, don't want those bees roaming around. Have you seen any?"
"No," the thief replies. "No bees. But we have a new problem now."
Kagemaru looks at the boy with surprise. "Oh? Worse than the bees?"
"The Blue Oni," the thief says. "Do you know him?"
"I think I heard of him. Tall? Blue Mask? Very theatrical?" Kagemaru asks. "I heard he's some semi-big number in the underworld."
"Do you think he will kill us?" the thief asks.
"I don't know," Kagemaru replies, "depends on what you've done to upset him, I guess."
"We've done nothing," the thief says. "He's just gone crazy."
"Sounds like Adler could need some help. That Blue Oni sounds like a worthy opponent," Kagemaru says with a sly smile that gets lost under his black mask.
"Well, I should go," the thief says. "Thank you for your help with the Killer Bees."
"No problem... keep safe." Kagemaru says while turning around and jumping to the next roof easily. As soon as he's out of sight, the ninja tries to circle around the thief and tail him.

(Kagemaru's Sneak: 1d20+13 = 33 VS Thief's Notice: 1d20+10 = 19)

Sheesh, kids today. Kagemaru would've been sent to the caves for a week without rice for such a sloppy escape. The kid might be panicked, but that's no excuse for not checking behind him, or doubling back, or doing anything sensible to shake pursuers. The ninja doesn't even work up a sweat keeping just a few steps behind the thief, easily following him over the rooftops.

---

Takao's too deep in the crowd to run any danger of being spotted by Holger, but the flash of thunder behind him gives a moment's pause. That was the unmistakable sound of a gonne behind him. The crowd gasps collectively at the scene, and then there is anguished wailing in the tone that Takao can't help but recognize as Imperial. A glance through the crowd tells the story: one of the Imperials Holger told not to move...moved. Now she's lying on the street and blood is pooling beneath her. Holger's extended arm holds a compact gonne that is still smoking. An Imperial man - perhaps her husband or brother? - is crouched at the woman's side, cradling her in his arms and crying.

"I done told you!" Holger spits. "I ain't playing no more! Any of you motherfuckers come at me or try to split, you getting laid down, son!"

---

"Things have gotten crazy!" the informant admits to Aiko. "The Killer Bees, Blue Oni and his men...*gasp*...I hope Adler really found the real killer's hiding spot!"

Yukio can't bear to watch. She doesn't have a plan, but she knows she has to do something.

"Stop this at once, Holger!" she shouts, stepping out of her hiding spot and immediately drawing attention. "These people have nothing to do with the Blue Oni!"
"Mama, you best not play me right now," Holger answers. His gonne sweeps to cover her and the crowd gasps again. "Ain't nobody going nowhere until I get the 411 on this deal."

---

It is said that none of us is as dumb as all of us, and thus the wisdom of crowds is anything but - with the shot and the shouting, Kasumi's no longer the most interesting thing near the tavern. The precipitous drop in audience attention to her "hired killer" show means that this is the right time to try and fade again.

(Kasumi's Sneak [+2 Discretionary bonus]: 1d20+5+2 = 21 VS Crowd's Notice: 1d20+6 = 18)

Once again, real life proves the old ninja saying right: if you don't have a plan, make sure you have a distraction. Kasumi swiftly sheathes her sword, rearranges her clothes and fades away into the dark corners of the alley.

Kasumi quickly gets underneath the house that she stashed her street clothes in and lets Hilga's clothes fall the rest of the way off her as she hangs her sword between two posts. Her kimono is quickly pulled over her shoulders, sash retied and sword secured before Hilga's clothes are packed away safely for retrieval later.

Her normal appearance reestablished, she steps out and climbs the side of the deck to get height on the rest of the crowd. "Holger!" she shouts, standing tall and straight on the railing, hand on her sword and the fiercest gaze she can manage fixed on the guard. Her sash and hair flutter in the sea breeze. "You want your explanation, come here and I will give you one, but first, let these innocent people go before you needlessly injure or kill the citizens you are sworn to protect!"

(Kasumi Impress: 1d20+13 = 27 vs. Holger's Resolve: 1d20+4 = 7)

The crowd's attention ping-pongs back to Kasumi, who's doing a fair job looking completely unlike the deadly demon she portrayed just half a minute ago. Holger looks at her, then back to Yukio, then back to Kasumi. (Swan dive!)

He lowers the hammer on his gonne and puts it back into the bandoleer he drew it from.

"How I know you was gonna be here?" he asks. "Shiiiiit."

Takao hands mechanically remove the katana with the broken seal from his obi and stash it in a convenient merchant stall (behind a rain drain, whatever is available) as he makes his way through the crowd toward Holger. Gonne or not, he will not suffer the unwashed barbarian killing any more Imperials at his whim! He arrives at the front of the crowd the moment Yukio reveals herself, his travel cloak cast back over his shoulders and the black-lacquered do and the blue saya of his sword in full view. He steps between Holger and his victim.

As he follows the exchange, Takao sizes up Holger and his men. Holger has already fired his gonne; does it have a second barrel?

(for a moment, I thought the ninjas all went after the messengers, and I was the only one left. Wouldn't have changed much what Takao ends up doing)

"And will someone get that poor woman some medical help?" Kasumi shouts to the crowd.

(Kasumi Impress: 1d20+13+6 (forgot Appearance bonus last time) = 33 v. Holger Resolve: 1d20+4 = 12)

"Hold up, hold up," Holger shouts, trying to stem the tide. "'Das'n Tatort, Leute, checkt ihr das nicht?" But the crowd quickly turns their boos on him. Over here in the darker parts of Kargbeck, the city guard doesn't have a sterling reputation, and Holger made his first mistake in putting away the gonne, thus proving that he's not the hardass he's trying to play. "A'ight, a'ight, you go doc her up, shawty. Sheesh, don't hate the playa, hate the game is what I'm sayin'."

Kasumi hops off the railing and walks through the crowd, which parts in front of her but doesn't disperse. There's whispers in Hanse around her as she walks past, but she doesn't notice them. Her focus is on the injured woman and the man holding her and crying as she coughs and bleeds in his arms.

She shoots Holger another sharp look that shouts Don't you go anywhere and turns to Takao. "Can you stop the bleeding?" she asks him. "I'll assist if that will help."

Takao gives Kasumi a look that says "keep your eyes on Holger".

Satisfied that Holger no longer represents a threat for now, Takao turns to kneel beside the woman and examine her.

(how do I use the roller on this forum? I have Medicine +7, with a threat of 19-20, and can change any non-error into a result of 22)

The wounds look grave, but assuming there is life left in the woman, Takao should be able to stabilize her.

(When replying, use the "D6" button to open a window with the dice roller.)

(Takao's Medicine: 1d20+7 = 16 boosted to 22 VS DC 15.)

Takao finds the woman bleeding quite profusely from her chest. Good news: the wound isn't very deep, so that should mean her heart and lungs are okay. Bad news: the shot hit a rib, both deflecting the bullet and shattering bone. It will take a skilled surgeon indeed to treat this wound; Takao can merely rip clean-looking strips from her kimono to press on the wound and stem the bleeding for the time being. In contrast to her wailing companion, the injured woman is quite unconscious from the shock, though she does still draw breath.

"Shawty," Holger says to Kasumi, "we gotta rap."

Takao gets back up after treating the woman.

"This is all I can do for her here. She needs a professional surgeon with a well-equipped shop to look after the rib."

He turns to the husband/brother, shakes the last few coins out of his purse and hands them to the man. "I trust you will take good care of her", he says, looking into the man's eyes.

Then he turns back to Kasumi and Holger, still trying to get a better impression of the man, for it a future confrontation is likely. Is he a bully? Overconfident? Just plain cruel?

(Takao's Sense Motive: 1d20+20 = 25 VS Holger's Resolve: 1d20+4 = 24)

Holger really does do his best to appear like a professional hardass. It's too bad, then, that Takao has seen people like Holger by the dozens and could recognize the signs in his sleep. Holger's scared, and desperately trying to stay in control of the situation. And he's already folding under Kasumi's masterful swaying of the crowd against him - give it a minute, he might need Takao's and Kasumi's help to make it out of the crowd without getting beaten.

Holger takes note of the samurai sizing him up, but keeps his attention on Kasumi.

"Yo, check it, chica," he says, "I know your crew is doing your thing and that's cool, but Vee-Sizzle ain't real patient and he steppin' up the game, making moves, you recognize? So you better holla at me with whatchu got before we gotta go to endgame mode."

Kasumi watches Holger while Takao helps the woman he injured stop bleeding all over the street, then turns to Holger when he speaks.
"Sure, we'll talk, but not here," Kasumi says. "Let's get off the street before this crowd decides shooting an innocent woman isn't something they're going to let you and your friends get away with without a few broken bones."
"Yeah, I'm down with that," Holger says. "Let's fade."

(HYPER-ORDINARY SCENE TRANSITION!)

Holger leads you inside an abandoned storefront. Judging from the decor and the smells, this place used to sell flowers. Yukio and Takao help the injured woman onto the store's counter and continue tending to her wounds while Kasumi talks to Holger.

"A'ight, this ain't nobody's turf up here," Holger says. "Drop some knowledge on me, chica."
"First thing, I need to know that what gets said doesn't come back to hurt us," Kasumi says. "Some of us might have done things that aren't quite to your laws' liking, but no innocents were injured."
"Eh, fuck that noise," Holger says, waving off your misdeeds. "You ain't iced none of our peeps, so it's all the same to me, homie."

(Kasumi's Sense Motive: 1d20+10 = 22 VS Holger's Bluff: 1d20+3 = 5)

Oh, Holger does care. It seems you've been given enough rope to potentially be hung from here, and the way Holger looks, getting the lot of you charged for whatever misdeeds you have committed in Kargbeck seems to the the city guard's Plan C, if not Plan B (after finding the real killer).

"Right," Kasumi nods slowly. "What do you know about Adler?"
"He a no-good thief, perpetrating like he the kingpin of Kargbeck." Holger grins. "Put some stitches in him last time we rolled up at his crib."
"He participated in the hit on Tingarson. If he didn't put it out himself, he's working for the people who did," Kasumi says. She watches to see his reaction to that bit of news.

Holger's face darkens. He didn't know that, but he's not surprised. "Homeboy tryin' to graduate," Holger says. "We gon' lay him down fo sho. Who he workin' with?"
"Don't know yet," Kasumi replies. "We've been somewhat stuck getting in, we have a few people on the inside of his gang that are nosing around for us."
"Cool," Holger says. "You best protect ya neck, chica, that Adler fool love rollin' deep. You come in swinging, you gotta prep to wet up the whole block."

(Kasumi's Sense Motive: 1d20+10 = 16 VS Holger's Bluff: 1d20+3 = 21. Action Die! 1d6.open = 5 Just enough to match Holger.)

Yep, collaborating with a known criminal...Holger's taking notes for the Plan B file. The idea of actually catching the murderer seems to have moved down into the "Would be nice" category, while building a case for putting someone on trial seems to have gotten a fair boost to its importance.

"We think that whoever Adler is working for must be pretty high up in the criminal underclasses in Kargbeck," Kasumi says. "What do you know about the top of the heap? Could help us narrow things down."
"Top of the set gets chopped, chica," Holger says. "Ain't nobody bigger than Adler that keeps breathing when we run this game."
"Holger, we know there's bigger fish in Kargbeck already." Kasumi leans closer to the man. "We're most of the way to mapping out the underworld of this city. We are on the same side. If you know who Adler's working for, then that means that we can be that much more helpful."

(Kasumi's Impress: 1d20+13+6 = 26 VS Holger's Resolve: 1d20+4 = 21)

"I told you, chica, anybody try to step large, we bring the pain," Holger says. "But shit, I know who you're talking about. Mr. Big Bad Privateer. Olafsen ain't around - but if he shows up, we get strapped and he gets six feet deep, believe that."
"And there's no one else out there?" Kasumi asks. "Olafsen would be the only one who could call the hit?"
"In case you ain't noticed, chica, this city ain't too big," Holger says. "Hell of a lot smaller than your empire."
Kasumi nods. "Privateer wants the harbor master dead. Makes sense, yeah?"
"You know it," Holger concurs.
"Good," Kasumi says. "So, are we cool, Holger?"
"We gon' be cooler when you have Adler, ya dig?"

Kasumi nods. "And next time, Holger?" She smiles at him. "Don't shoot someone just to make a point. The next time, I might not be here to save your ass from being strung up on the nearest tall building."
Holger's eyes narrow. "Don't get fresh with me, chica. That skirt came at me and I pulled my gat. Ain't proud of it - won't hesitate for the next bitch. Dig?"
Kasumi drops the smile and returns the glare. "Yes, I'm sure that housewife was so very threatening. Next time, look before you leap, and maybe you won't almost kill another bystander." She nods to the door. "I have to check on her. Where can I find you when we've got more info on Adler?"
"Back where the Vee-Sizzle's crib, you know how we do," Holger says. "You watch yourself, chica. And if you step up to the big man, you better step correct. If I peep you there and this Adler shit ain't resolved, we gon' have words for real."

(Kasumi's Sense Motive: 1d20+10 = 24 VS. Holger's Resolve: 1d20+4 = 12)

For all that Holger's looking for a Plan B, he doesn't seem to be out to screw you no matter what - if you can get him Adler, then there's no reason for him to throw you to the wolves.

Kasumi smiles, and offers him a respectful bow. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Holger. Thank you very much for your cooperation."
"A'ight," Holger says. "I'll get an MD for the skirt on the way. You gon' be here?"
Kasumi nods. "Make it quick."

When the excitement has died down and Holger has left, Takao will go back and retrieve the blade he stashed away.

Meanwhile, on the run with the informant and Aiko...

Aiko and the informant duck into a corner to catch their breath. Well, the informant, at any rate. Aiko's in better shape, as evident from her continued questions.

"You mean Adler didn't order the hit?" she pushes, seeking an admission of Adler's guilt as mastermind of the murder.
"He didn't do it!" the informant replies. He leaves open whether the 'it' refers to giving the order or the deed itself. "That's why we have to find the real killer and hand him over!"
"The Oni feels different," Aiko says. "And while he is a murderer and an insufferable braggert, he also has the reputation" - for a moment, Aiko has to struggle with translating the concept she wants into Hanse - "for the essential honesty of his declarations." Then, darkly, "He's also not known for changing his mind."

"Do you think you could take him?" the informant asks. "Just...delay him a bit?"
"I like your boss," she says, peering cautiously around the corner before indicating her companion should lead on once more. "But it's going to take more than that to convince me to stand between them while he runs." She holds up her jitte. "For a start, I have no sword and he's armed and armoured."

That gives the informant brief pause. Very brief.

"We have something better than swords," the informant says. "We have gonnes."
"Gonnes aren't just a Hanse thing anymore. The Oni's probably got some of his own."
"Yes," the informant says. "From us."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Aiko asks in exasperation. "How much further?"
"Just over there..." the informant gasps.

---

True to his word, Holger shows up with a doctor a scant few minutes later. This doctor, however, is dressed in the uniform of the guards. So are the half dozen men with gonnes who accompany them. Holger's leading the formation, with new determination on his face.

"Holler, chica, Vee-Sizzle's flipping the script on Adler. Me and my homeboys are gon' roll deep right up to his crib and let our gats pop, lay down some thugs and bring the pain. If you're still in this game, then you best roll with us."

His eyes flick over to Takao, who had just retrieved his sword and now had occasion to hide it just as quickly once again inside the house.

"Are you down with this shit, son?" Holger asks.

Kasumi jumps out of her chair and runs up to Holger and his hit squad. "Hey, hey, slow your roll, Holger. Haven't you heard of casing a target? With the Blue Oni just putting a hit out on Adler, he's going to be hiding, probably in the middle of a big circle of thieves with gonnes. You're gonna be lucky if you get within three blocks of his hideout." She pretends to think for a moment. "Let me get my people out, they'll be able to tell you what the sitch is, and then, if Adler is the right target, and he can get got without putting all of you in the ground, you can roll deep. Chill?"

"Smart play, chica," Holger agrees, "only I cold know that Adler will get ghost while we play smart. And it ain't my call to begin with - there's four more of our crews rolling up on Adler's crib right now. If I don't roll, they're gonna get jacked up for real and that ain't gonna be on me."

Holger sighs.

"Look, chica, this ain't your turf and this ain't your fight. We got this and no crew of two-bit hoods gonna stop us. We know what we're heading into and if that's how it's gonna go down, then we're ready. So what we do ain't up for a vote - I'm just here to ask about your move."