1. Shooting, Beating, Stabbing

[shaidar]

Shift

Shift's prediction network throws up an interesting possibility... what if the perpetrator actually lives in the adjacent apartment and the work order is the means to obtain a new vehicle for their murderous intentions. His autonomic systems kick into a higher gear, priming his enhanced reflexes circuitry.

He looks at the door to see if there is a spyhole, he also attempts to apply a booster and filter to his auditory systems to detect any movement behind the door.

Audio filter: [1d6]=2

He does the digital equivalent of a wince and has to dial back his auditory circuits until the feedback overload subsides, which might take a while.

[tibbius]

As Shift's audio experiments painfully seize his attention, Louis feels the motion of a door silently opening behind him, across the hall from Andy Berry's apartment.

Louis has a moment to react. What do?

[Lance]

Clark sends a message to Angus when he gets the memo. "What now? Do we go there, continue our current plan or maybe meet up at the supposed scene?" By current plan he means his hope to get access to the security cam network, and Angus' looming paperwork.

[BackworldTraveller]

Angus
I've a class full of trainees and was expecting to have all day to prepare!

[tibbius]

"Professor Angus?" asks a particularly young-looking student. She bounces impatiently in her seat. "Professor Angus?Can you explain the code sample in section fifteen? I don't get what's the point of accessing the same pointer in a loop."

[thenewflesh]

Louis blinks, takes a deep breath, then stares at his phone with what he hopes is casual boredom.

[tibbius]

Heavy quick footsteps. Hands grasping both of Louis' shoulders and his upper arms. Four hands. Two people. "Sir, you'll need to come with us now." Wrenching motion and he's being dragged backward on his heels. He sees two grim faces in profile, big men with tight haircuts like GovCorp security.

What's he do?

[thenewflesh]

Louis spins around and tries his very best to look nonplussed. "I would like to see some badges, please."

[tibbius]

They have a pretty tight grip ...

Roll something to break free and spin around

[tibbius]

Shift hears a footstep on the other side of the door where he's waiting to go in and replace the plate on the electrical outlet.

[tibbius]

Louis gives up quickly on the "spin around" thing and settles for staring up at the goons. They look down at him with smug expressions as they haul him through a doorway, he's guessing into the apartment across from 22-14.

"He'd like to see some badges," one of them thoughtfully says to the other. The other nods, and kicks the door closed with a solid slam.

They let go of Louis, but they're both between him and the door.

There are four other large men with tight hair cuts in the main room of the apartment, six guys total. All human, built like smaller trolls. The four who are sitting down facing computer screens pay no attention to Louis. The other two stand aggressively as he steadies himself.

"Let's go in the other room," says the door-kicker. He has darker hair than the one who talked about badges. His nose is snubbed and he squints when he talks. He's about four inches taller than Louis, an inch shorter than his buddy.

"Yes," says the taller one. "Let's go in the other room there, sit down and talk. That would be nice, you think?" he asks Louis with a somewhat-too-pleasant tone.

[shaidar]

Shift knocks on the door in front of him. "Good day, Sir or Madam, maintenance. You have a broken electrical outlet I am here to fix"

[BackworldTraveller]

"Professor Angus?" asks a particularly young-looking student. She bounces impatiently in her seat. "Professor Angus? Can you explain the code sample in section fifteen? I don't get what's the point of accessing the same pointer in a loop."

Angus sometimes despairs of his students - they just don't see that the point of a hardware lesson is to fix the hardware not fiddle with the software.

After a few inappropriate thoughts about the correct use of torture in a classroom as an aid to student concentration, he sits down and looks at the issue raised. Well, think of the loop as a set of boxes that each need to connect to the item they are working on - that connection is the pointer

Checks the clock.

and then returns to filling in the paperwork to replace stocks "irretrievably damaged during student exercises". He can almost see the bursar's face as he lectures on "poor quality teachers using up valuable resources teaching ignorant savages".

On the other hand, that new teacher (what was her name?), might need a hand later...but no - I'm getting stuff for a serious investigation.

[thenewflesh]

Louis nods thoughtfully. "Alright," he says very slowly, with a calm that takes him quite by surprise. "Just buy Shift time," he thinks.

[tibbius]

Shift of course noticed Louis being dragged through a door that slammed, but playing Typical Android he ignored those events. It seems like the occupant of the apartment in front of him was fully aware, though. She pulls the door open and gestures him in with a frightened look toward the neighboring apartment.

"It's been broken for a week," she grumbles, "ever since Daimon knocked over the toaster." A large black fluffy cat meows in response to its name and patrols around Shift as he moves further into the apartment. The work order says kitchen outlet plate broken replace please.

[shaidar]

Shift steps inside the apartment

"Do not worry, madam, I am sure it will not take long to repair.", in parallel he messages the others "Louis has been dragged into an apartment opposite the targets apartment by two male humans that look both very official and very efficient", he tacks on the apartment number in question to the end of the message.

Once the woman has closed the door he heads towards the kitchen "Excuse me madam, but who are the humans who dragged that man into the apartment opposite? Do you know if they have the appropriate paperwork? I would hate to think of the damage that could come of such behaviour. I shall have to report it to the building manager."

[tibbius]

The old woman cackles nervously as she holds up a hand-mirror and checks her elaborately braided grey hair for loose strands. "I don't ask govthugs for paperwork," she says, "they showed me badges when they moved in. Fix the plate please."

[shaidar]

Shift

"Of course madam, I will only take me a few minutes"

He sends an addendum to his previous messages "I have been informed that Louis's abductors are govcorp employees"

[tibbius]

Angus? Clark?

[Lance]

I dunno, man, I wanna see where this is going without interrupting with inane office bullshit. Though I love my inane office bullshit.