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Tam stares out the window as Orphan drives, letting the feel of the city wash over her in Prime colors and sensations. She looks over at Orphan, staring intently, reading his aura, grinning at the colors she sees, then she looks back at the city.
Focus on the mission, girl, the mission.
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"So, Jack, let's go over the details," Orphan says. "What specifically are we looking for?"
He glances over at Tam every now and then, but mostly focuses on the road as he drives.
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"We're gonna be observing the 'knots' I told you about, trying to see if there are any runes or anything by them that will give an idea of... anything, really," Jack says after swallowing some of his sandwich. "The Quack tour is just a cover-up so we can get close enough to the base of the bridge without too many questioning looks."
Jack takes another bite of his sandwich, making sure not to spill anything in Orphan's car.
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Orphan nods and takes a sip of the big Mountain Dew he'd grabbed at a convenience store on the way out. "Like I said before, it's a solid plan, and anything we find might be of use. Info is info."
Thinking for a moment, something occurs to him. "I can use Scrying to get a close-up look at the knots," Orphan says. "Unfortunately, I'm not good enough with either Space or Mind to let you look along with me, but once I've seen the knots up close, I can try Scrying later, in case there's something to be gained by studying them more closely."
Then something else occurs to Orphan. "I should warn you, strange stuff has happened some of the time when I've been around the bridge. There was this one guy, he looked like a homeless dude, napping on a bench. Some of the Arrows and I were looking for someone, a matter that might or might not tie into all this somehow. We thought it might be him. Anyhow, it turned out he was a mage. He started talking about some token and needing to talk to Peter, and when he figured out we didn't know what he was talking about, he got freaked out. About that time, that guy Vector showed up, and the guy got scared and took off." Orphan grits his teeth thinking about Vector. "He drained off half of Tug's Mana, then tossed him around like a toy... telekinesis or something. The rest of us never even got a shot at him."
Orphan shakes his head. "Not our best showing. Tug ended up getting punched out by a bunch of drunks, the guy got away. We still don't know what's up with that stuff about Peter and the Token. No idea how, or if, it ties into this other thing. Still, Fate led us to the park by the Bridge, so I'm guessing it is connected, one way or another."
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Tam shivered at the prospect of facing a Master of Prime.
"If this Vector nightmare shows up, we run," she says, still staring out the window. "We stick together, and we run." Her tone says this isn't up for debate.
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"If possible, yes, that would be the best course of action," Orphan says. He leaves unsaid the simple fact that he would stay behind to at least delay Vector, if he felt that offered the best chance of Tam and Jack getting away.
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Aura Colors
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Jack finishes his sandwich, then ponders silently about Orphan's story for the rest of the ride to the Bridge.
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The Bridge appears in the distance, and the group arrives at their destination. Only a few hours of daylight are left, and the chill bites the skin.
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After parking the car, Orphan puts on a Navy surplus knit cap and a light pair of insulated gloves against the cold. Though he'd rather have his daisho with him, he can't think of any way for that to not draw unwelcome attention, so he plans to go in with more subtle - and concealable - weapon choices, namely his pistol and batons. He hoped this particular mission wouldn't turn into a fight, but he knew better than to pin one's survival on hope.
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