(AGTOO) It Takes Four To Plan

[Kaze]

Kaze arrives next. He smiles at Shodan. "You're looking well." he says. "Do you want to wait until everyone's here before you go into what you figured out from what you got on your computer?" he asks.

[Campanella]

Campanella appears a few moments later, his feet echoing on the stone floor and his coat billowing around him.

"Good day to you all. Shall we?"

He moved to the oval of chairs and gave each member of the group a little nod of greeting. With a sweeping gesture of the hand he indicated the vacant chairs before he seated himself next to the Libertine.

[Kaze]

Kaze smiles at Alastor's arrival and nods in the affirmative at the Hierarch's indication to begin.

He manages to keep a schooled, studiously composed expression while Shodan "reports", not at any point either rolling his eyes or face palming.

"While we were waiting, Shodan was hacking the security to get eyes on the scene for overwatch. Somehow he crossed paths with a hacker somehow connected to...Seers?"

Kaze glances at Shodan,"While Shodan did the online counter attacks, the hacker took control of your car's automated system forcing it to accelerate, and decided we needed to race against his vehicle, and at the same time do online stuff that Shodan can tell you about. That left me taking over the driving." Kaze sighs.

"At a critical point on the freeway, the hacker took control of the brakes and was using that control at high speed to make the car difficult to control, and risking our ability to survive. His own vehicle was a van, with magic glyphs on it, and the van changed color whenever he wanted." he explains.

"I decided to ram it, forcing it off the overpass. That stopped the hacking, but when we inspected the crashed vehicle, the driver was a male who had been shot and killed...well before the race took place. I guess that instead of some kind of magical zombie thing, the van was remote controlled by the hacker from somewhere else the whole time, and the murdered person was just there to take the...fall. Sorry, I didn't mean to say it that way." he finishes with a grimace at the involuntary pun.

"Anyway, the van exploded shortly after it's crash, so we didn't get too much from it. After that, we left the scene to reconnect with you. Shodan was hurt in the explosion, and I dropped him off shortly before meeting with you."

[Campanella]

Campanella settled himself in his seat, hands folded placidly on his lap, with his body leaning slightly to one side and head inclined down. He listened intently as the two mages explained what had happened to them. Shodan's enthusiasm earns a smile. With Kaze's much more sober explanation, the smile fades into a frown.

There is a pulse at the Hierarch's jaw as he flicks up a hand and runs his fingers through his hair.

"That was... Unexpected. And dangerous. I assume you ensured you left as few traces as possible?"

He looked up and straightened.

"Well, I can report that Alastor and I didn't experience anything quite as bracing as that. We were unable to meet my contact and... Yes. I'll get to that in a moment."

His knuckles breezed across his chin as he thought.

"I'll relate what we found at the gallery first. Then something that occurred just before we got there - an incident in the rain which seemed strange at first. But to the gallery. It was locked, closed. My contact should have met us at the door for a prearranged meeting and I moved off once it became apparent he wasn't in. The gallery had minimal security but it was enough to concern me. Alastor here found an alternative entrance: a deposit around the side. This we accessed through a nearby alley and found the door partially open. Inside we found crates, some of which had been looted - but not throughly enough as it turned out."

"I left Alastor to search the deposit and went looking for my colleague. I didn't find, it is true. But I didn't search the upper floor. I don't think I needed to. A brief survey of his gallery suggested what he was really doing and what Alastor discovered in the deposit only confirmed that. It would appear my contact was less art dealer than drug smuggler - and as Alastor can attest, he had come to a sticky end. Alastor found the chain saw that presumably finished him off. The looting suggested a deal of some kind going badly wrong. The resonance of the area supported this - some very bad people with bad intentions had been in the area recently and there was much pain."

"We checked the crates. They had been carrying indigenous artefacts from South America. Secret compartments held drugs in quantity. It would seem our persons of ill intent had not had the time to search the crates but they had looted the artefacts. My conjecture is my contact was involved in a smuggling ring, and made a profitable side line in insurance fraud - theft of art, forgery, that sort of thing. I'm not quite certain how this squares with the Eisenmuller art just yet, but the ring would certainly have the contacts and skills to have been behind the theft - most likely being used as a tool by someone else. I doubt my... friend... had the skill to deceive the groups tracking the painting and I had first believe that was why he reached out to me when he discovered I was making my own inquiries. I believe Alastor may have found some evidence of his own."

Campanella gave the Arrow a significant look before continuing.

"So. No art and no contact from the gallery. Now was there some Seer involvement? Yes. I believe there was. Just before we reached the gallery we came across to people out in the street: a well dressed woman and a giant who was obviously her bodyguard. We passed one another, she made some off hand remarks which I at first took for folly. They did not register as Awakened and I sensed so spells but for a moment, which I took as a trick of the light. Alastor made mention of the woman's broach - a sing of the Architects of the Future? A faction of Seers?"

Again, the Hierarch checks with the Arrow.

"Now at the gallery, I sensed the remains of a portal spell. I also managed to identify a seperate strand in the resonance. If the giant and his charge were Seers - and I strongly believe they were - then they had been through the gallery just before us. I have a hunch they did not find what they were looking for either. So that means the painting is still out there. I suspect they had been pressuring my art dealer contact and perhaps this is what contributed to his spectacular falling out with his fellow smugglers."