Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: Gustovness on <02-27-13/2122:33>
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Your comlink wakes you. You can't remember when was the last time you got a job offer at a decent hour. This is how you know it's work and that you'd better get up off your ass and see what could be so important that someone is contacting you at...
You check the time...
Quarter to 7 in the morning!?
You check the priority flagged message. It's from Massimo, one of your recent Mafia contacts.
"Yo, my boss needs to see you quick. No time for Johnsons and all that shit. We need people from your neck of the woods and we're pressed for time. I'll see you at Parolacces at Bellevue in two hours."
His tone of voice makes is seem like he's serious about the time frame...
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Trog sighed and said, "Why did I ever leave that cushy gig in boxing? At least then I got to sleep." Closing his AR display, Trog got dressed and went to get breakfast, the regular soy based synthetic with a couple pumps of maple flavor. There must be something to get that down easier. He looks around and decided to pour himself a glass of synthahol. Well it's five o'clock somewhere, and maybe it'll make this business more interesting, last couple of jobs have been so boring.
Trog finished his breakfast, happier about the synthahol than the soy. After finishing he put on his armor, but kept his helmet off for the time being. "Never know with those Mafia types... Hell, never know with anyone in this business. Might as well get going." Trog yawned and grumbled as he opened the door to his apartment and locked it after he was outside. Trog decided to go right to the meeting spot and scope out the area a little. I might not be smart like a book, but I'm not stupid enough to not expect an ambush.
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Siren groaned dramtically, sitting upright on the bare mattress that served as her bed. With pained blinks, she put her ARO-enabled contacts in, squinting at the text she got from Massimo. "'Neck of the woods...?'" With a mental command, Siren pulled up an ARO clock. 6:46 streaked across her sight in big, blaring red letters like an insult. She groaned louder, flopping back into bed and kicking her legs in the air. She was about ready to tell the Italian goon to screw off, but purely by accident she slipped back into sleep instead. About an hour later, she woke up and checked her messages out of reflex. Realizing that the offer from Massimo wasn't a dream, she immediately decided to check her bank account. A minute later, she bolted out of bed and began to get dressed, picking up a muted beige sundress, only slightly wrinkled from the synthetic wood floor of her apartment. She was not in any sort of financial position to be picky...
As she rushed out the door for Parolacces, she grabbed the dull-yellow armored peacoat she used for "side-gigs", making sure her taser was secure in the concealable holster she kept near the hip. Whether on a run or not, she never left home without it, especially as the band got bigger and bigger and the fanboys got creepier and creepier. She paused to fuss over her face in the mirror. Her pale skin was a bit cracked and dry, and her green eyes a little bloodshot. That's what I get for hanging out late with Johnny Crash... she thought. There's something about those ork boys. That bad influence.
After a perfunctory facewash and breakfast of one and a half synthcigs, Siren burst out the door and into the hallway awash with the sound of babies crying and the smell of other people's cooking. Taking the stairs two at a time, she entered the parking lot and hopped into her battered Mercury Comet. "Parolacces," she murmured into the car's Auto-Drive, lighting up another synthcig, "Parolacces at Bellevue."
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Laciel awoke to the sound of her comm link beeping. She rolled over on her lumpy message to hit snooze before she realized it was a message.
Who does this jerk thing he is, calling me this early, she was about to just reply and tell him where he can shove his message when she realized she was broke and rent was due soon, She sat up and shivered as her bare feet touched the cold floor. Maybe this run will pay for a new place to live. She stood up and walked the five steps it took to get to the mini fridge in the corner. She grabbed a bottle of something out of the fridge and drank it down, hoping it wasn't spoiled. It tasted like crap but it was 'loaded with synthetic nutrients'.
I hope Massimo doesn't get upset about me crashing his party early, but I don't trust the mafia. she said as she grabbed her slid on her form-fitting body armor, and then her lined coat over that. She strapped on her holster to the small of her back and walked out to her bike.
It started up the first time, and she took off to Parolacces.
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Concrete lighted a cigarette after checking the message from Massimo. The absence of a Johnson was bad news as he had to try and do all the background checks in the following two hours. Also it was an awfully early start for the Mob and the fact made him more cautious while piqueing his interest. Still, haste means greater need which in turn usually means more payment, so this might be worth checking out.
Going through his breakfast he checked the news for anything reeking of Maffia business. He murmured „Which family is it anyway?” and also started to check out the ’trix site for the meeting place for hints.
After finishing breakfast he thought-dialed Sixpack’s comm. Probably won’t take it but still worth a try and a message left might yield information later. „Hoi Chummer, just checking if you heard any juicy news about some fresh drek concerning the Mob. You have anything, call me ASAP. By the way, i will be heading your way in the following days so get me some of the higher quality stuff. Don’t get geeked in the meantime.”
Having finished what he could do as preparation Concrete geared up as appropriate for Parolacces and left home. Public transportation tended to be tricky during rush hours and he wanted to be there at least 10 minutes before the appointed time. The Mob doesn’t like prospective employees being late.
For maffia-related news: INT(4) + Underworld(2) + Mnemonic enhancer (1) (7d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3947759/)
For which family: INT(4) + Underworld(2) + Mnemonic enhancer (1) (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3947760/)
About the Parolacces: INT(4) + Bars and Clubs: Seattle (5) + Mnemonic enhancer (1) (10d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3947762/)
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Not stopping the treadmill, Lord checks the message that interrupts his morning run.
Massimo? Massimo? Oh yes that shifty chap, Purina introduced me to.
First the Morrison twins and now a little excitement, shaping up to be a good week.
Munching on a handful of fresh cherries he took a quick shower before dressing in his nice Berwick suit. the one he'd had altered.
Stopping to grab his "other" briefcase and then after a moments thought he grabbed his gymbag from the secret partition in the walk in wardrobe.
Emergency jobs always pay well but the extra bang bang is normally essential.
With a thought he summoned the lift down to the garage and hopped into the back of his rented sedan, giving it instructions to take him to Parolacces and to drive around the area till the appointed time.
Resting in the back he pulled up a couple of new sites to see if there was anything in the news that would give a clue as to the upcoming events.
[spoiler=Data Search]
Data search on "Mafia","Major Crimes" within last 24 hours (12d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3947792/)
[/spoiler]
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Neither Concrete's nor Lord's searches on recent Mafia activity yield any useful bounty, not to say that things are unusually quite, either. It's seems to just be business as usual for the bigger syndicates in Seattle.
Concrete recalls that Massimo is an enforcer for the Bigio family. It doesn't take long before the sleep starts to clear from his head and he starts to put two and two together. It's common knowledge (at least to someone who's up to date on the bars and clubs scene) that the Parolacces is owned by the Bigio family. Typically considered to be one of their more legitimate business endeavors, it's considered to be one of the safer places for your digestive system to slug down a hearty Italian meal on a first date before making the move that you keep stressing out about to just put your damned hand on her leg already...
but only if you order dessert...
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One of the things that kept Needle from formally finishing medical school - besides the repetitive droning of her college professors, whom she couldn't stand listening to - were the hours one had to keep. Classes all day, interning in the afternoon, studying at night...one never got enough sleep. So when she left medical school to start "practicing" medicine on her own, she had decided that she would keep hours that were more suited to her internal bio-rhythms. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work out like that.
On this particular morning, her commlink started buzzing about 4 hours after she had gone to bed. Some crazed drunk in a trailer a few blocks over decided to get into a fight with his own brother. He would have won, too, had he not been stabbed with a broken beer bottle. And thankfully, everybody in the park knew Needle, and they knew she was great at stitching people up. So he pounded on the door to the Vista and begged her to patch him up with promises of paying her in a couple of days. She knew better, but she couldn't turn him away. And now she was paying for it.
Putting her glasses on, she blinked several times as she tried to put the message in focus, the actual time of day blinking away in the upper right corner of her AR display.
Who in the hell is actually up long enough at this point in the day to do business?
Once she is able to read the message - and finally comprehend what is being asked - she pulls herself out of bed, aiming for the shower. It's a bit cramped in the Vista, but the bus had better facilities than any of the community ones in the trailer park she called home. Redmond was ok, but there were far too many rednecks and idiots wandering about out there, and she'd rather not shower at all than deal with some of the creeps who hang out by the women's restrooms.
Once she finished showering and getting dressed, she hopped into the rigger cocoon she had installed and gave the instructions to the pilot program - Parolacces at Bellevue. Then she started to do some digging on her potential employer.
My neck of the woods? Did someone else from the trailer park get this message too? Are there other runners here in the park?
Ok, I'm still waiting on the activation email from IC, so I can't put a campaign name in with the rolls. So I've just gone ahead and used the character name "Needle (Bunraku)". I hope that's ok.
Knowledge check, Shadow Community (to see if there are other runners in the trailer park she lives in): 9d6.hits(5) = 4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3947846/)
Data Search, Massimo (to include known affiliates): 16d6.hits(5) = 7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3947847/)
Data Search, Parolacces at Bellevue (to include map of the area and buildings within a 2 block radius): 16d6.hits(5) = 7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3947849/)
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Needle's extensive search into the Shadow Community brings up a long list of perps with an even longer list of petty crimes ranging from drunk and disorderly to aggravated assault. There is nothing, however, that convinces her that there are any professional runners in her trailer park, and much less that there are any around that have anything to do with the Mafia. Maybe Massimo was referring to her area of expertise?
A data search on Massimo yields a huge bounty of data. An enforcer for the Bagio family, Massimo is a mundane human and a close and trusted confidant of Don Lorenzo, the head of the Bagio family. Don Lorenzo has earned a reputation since he took power of "upgrading" the family business from protection rackets and theft to corporate blackmail and human trafficking.
Massimo's known affiliates hint at his having worked with other shadow runner teams, but nothing that stands out as out of the ordinary.
A data search on Parolacces yields mostly run of the mill public matrix stuff like hours of operation and a menu. The occasional news article mentions the owner, Don Lorenzo Bagio, and how he might be implicated in some criminal charge that never seems to stick.
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"BING. You have arrived at your destination," the Mercury's Auto-Drive announced in a robotic, atonal voice. Siren peered out the window at the little restaurant. It's strange, she never really noticed the place before, but it made perfect sense as a mob establishment. Innocent enough to avoid suspicion, but such a mafioso cliche that even the dumbest ganger would know not to screw with it. The place appeared to be closed, and she was a bit early for the meet (say what you want about Auto-Drive systems, but they're good at finding an efficient route). Siren decided it was best not loiter around, however, on the off-chance a fan might recognize her.
Flipping the switch on the Auto-Drive to manual, Siren drove further down the block and parked out of sight of the meeting joint. Stepping out of the car and smoothing out the stiff material of the armored peacoat, she headed back toward Parolacces. Along the way, she placed her headphones over her ears and kept a brisk pace, trying to blend in.
Eventually, she crossed the street and spent a couple of nuyen at a vending machine operating as a newstand-by-proxy. She popped the tab on the processed iced soykaff and downloaded a crummy local e-zine, bringing up an AR window and leafing through its pages. She pretended to read, but really she was keeping an eye on the restaurant, waiting to see if the door opened up or any of her fellow runners arrived.
And now for some superfluous rolls to get used to the die roller! Infilitration to blend in, Perception to spy movement in the restaurant/approaching likely shadowrunners.
Infiltration = (4d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948028/)
Perception = (4d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948029/)
Off to a rip-roaring start, as you can see.
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Checking the time on display Concrete snorted. Lucky with traffic, he thought, but have almost a half-hour to kill. He didnt mind the opportunity to check the neighborhood. Strolling along the street and around the block he checked the back of the restaurant. If it offers lunch it should bustle with activity by now, at least in the back. The smell surely would give them away. Caution also mad him check for lookouts on the street which could indicate some bigger problem.
Checking smells: INT(4) + Perception(3) + ’warez(6) + qualities(4) + actively looking(3) – assumed penality for being outside and further off the door(3) (17d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948037/)
Looking for signs of trouble: INT(4) + Perception(3) + ’warez(6) + qualities(4) + actively looking(3) (20d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948039/)
After the round was finished he looked for a vending machine from which he could see the entrance. Casually leaning against the machine, sipping at the freshly-bought soykaf and smoking a cigarette he looked for all the others probably arriving for the job.
Looking for other prospective employees (casually): INT(4) + Perception(3) + ’warez(6) + qualities(4) (17d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948041/)
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Arriving at Parolacces, Trog decided to take a look for any alleyways beside the building. While in the alleys, Trog looked for any signs of doors that could be used for a quick escape.
Perception for doors (8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948064/) (Perception 3 + INT 2 + Actively Looking 3)
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The rigger cocoon was a wonderful addition to the bus. It allowed Needle the freedom to spend hours and hours in the Matrix without having to worry about taking care of her physical body. The cocoon provided her a nice place to sit and be protected while her mind wandered about the digital landscape. It was one of the best accessories she could have ever purchased, especially considering it allowed her to just jump in and give commands to the bus without having to actually drive the damned thing.
She sat in the cocoon, surfing the Matrix, while the bus picked its way through town to the meet. Sorting through all that data took some time, but the bus was plodding along so she knew she had time to do it. When she looked through the data regarding runners in the trailer park, her avatar furrowed its brow.
Well, that's odd. There aren't any other runners in my neighborhood. So what do you suppose...
Oh, that's right. My neck of the woods might be used as an uncommon colloquialism signifying my particular field of expertise. But why, do you suppose, they would want another Matrix jockey and/or another doctor for this job?
The bus pulled up and parked itself 1 block away from the little Italian bistro, giving Needle about 10 minutes to walk the block to the meet. She hated being directly on time to things, but she also hated being extremely early. So she had determined, a long time ago, that 5-10 minutes early was about the right amount of time. She exited the cocoon and made sure all of the security features of the bus were in order before heading off.
When she got to the building, she walked right up to the door and peered in through the window. She tested the door to see if it was open, knocking at least one time before doing so.
"Hello? Is there anybody in there?"
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The time is: 8:45am
Trog walked around the alley quite conspicuously looking for possible escape routes from the building. He noticed the one service entry at the back of the building that staff undoubtedly used, one emergency exit at the side of the building, and the main door. Niether the troll nor the orc, found anything out of the ordinary around the restaurant in their patrols.
As much as a troll walking up and down an alley scoping out the place where one is about to meet with a Johnson (or the next closest thing in this case), Concrete missed the troll completely when he, instead, noticed the beauty standing near him enjoying a soykaf. Being that Concrete was no stranger to the nightclub scene in Seattle, he instantly recognized the rising local star, Siren.
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Sipping at the soykaf Concrete started to feel reassured. Nothing indicated that there is more trouble than usual. He lighted another cigarette and turned to the vending machine for another soycaf... and froze for a moment. It just cannot be! Near him stood one of the celebrities of the sprawl, the gorgeous Alicia Redford herself. What and why she did here this time in the morning did not matter. This was an opportunity of a lifetime.
"Hello. May i offer to buy a coffee for you, Ms. Redford?" Concrete turned his vioce down: he knew some celebrities did like their privacy. Then it hit him: Just by herself?
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Lasciel puled into the parkinglot,of the restaurant, running later than she really wanted to. Great, I ate crap for breakfast and I bet they won't even offer us an appetizer, she mumbled to herself as she swung her leg from the bike. She looked around to see if anything looked out of place.
Perception check (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948123/) Perception (default) 2, +3 vision enhancment: 5d6.hits(5) → [1,6,3,1,4] = (1)
She just hoped that she wouldn't run into any of her former customers or any dwarves.
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Alicia did her best to suppress a sigh and a roll of the eyes. Not even an hour into her supposedly "clandestine" activities and she'd already been recognized. Turning to look at the man offering her coffee, however, she immediately realized he was not the typical fan. An acquaintence of Massimo, I wonder?
"No thanks, chummer," she replied. She gave the can of iced soykaff in her hand a little twirl, the faint sloshing noise indicating that there was still some inside. "Appreciate the offer, though, that's sweet. Mr... ?"
Before Concrete could answer, Siren was distracted by a strange-looking woman peering into the windows of Parolacces. It seemed the runners were indeed starting to show up for the meet. Siren pointed at the restaurant across the street with her pinky finger, glancing over at Concrete. "You, uh... you like Italian, too?" she asked, hoping he'd pick up on the implication and give her some indication that he was indeed one of her fellow runners.
Etiquette roll to suppress being obviously annoyed at being spotted:
Etiquette = (14d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948237/)
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"The name's Mike Curtis. And yeah, i like Italian." He paused. She coudn't mean... To hide his distress Concrete half-turned to look at the restaurant. "Unfortunately they are closed. I'd prefer one of their capuccinos insted this."
To hide his shock at the thought: CHA(3) + Etiquette(1) + Empathy software(3) (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948339/) (not much of a success)
To catch her meaning: INT(4) + Negotiation: Sense Motive(3) + Empathy software(3) (10d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3948345/) (still not believing)
Also noticing the woman in front of the door, and picking up her question even over the distance he narrowed his eyes. Well, at least one other arrived. But man, she could be more cautious. Turning back to Alice he continued: "I know an italian coffee shop nearby if you are interested. You really should try that." As he began to concentrate on Alice he thought, to hell with the job this is a much better alternative. But to confirm his suspicion he mentioned. "This here is the genuine thing though."
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Coming back from the alleys, Trog saw a bunch of new individuals gathering near the restaurant. Look at those two... weaklings. That Ork looks alright I guess, he might hold his on in a fight.
Trog walked over to the group of two. "Hoi Ork, you here to meet Massimo?" He glanced at the Elf with a sort of exasperation on his face. "And why are you here smooth one? Look awful weak if you ask me, leave the running to the big boys." Trog chuckled a little bit to himself. "Think we'll at least get something to eat? I could stand a good meal instead of that soy bullshit they feed us now." Trog sighed and rubbed his stomach.
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Siren blinked mutely at the troll for a moment, choosing to ignore the insults. Perhaps I'm overdoing the whole subtlety, cloak-and-dagger thing...
She exchanged a brief "Can you believe this guy?" glance with Mike, looked back at the troll, and then back to Mike. "So you two are runners, then?" she asked flatly, sipping the last of her soykaff.
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This is just getting better. "You could say that" he answered to Alicia, obviously annoyed by the troll's assault. He then turned back to the newcomer. "By the way, Omae, some introduction would have been in order first. Anyway, do not let the lady in front and those inside wait. Time is money and i think we are all here to trade one of them for the other."
After the initial shock of meeting one of his favourite voices of the sprawl and realizing she might be as deep in the shadows as himself, he casually acknowledged that the troll in front of them was wearing a law enforcement combat armor. He then looked for the profile of Alicia's comm and put the flashing sign Danger Magnet above the troll in AR, visible only to her. He then lighted his next cigarette and offered her one before heading to the entrance.
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Arriving at the resturant with a good few minutes to spare. Lord took his car into the parking lot, taking to care to keep his gym bag out of casual sight he wandered over to the restaurant, sending the command to lock the sedan en route.
Entering the restaurant he took a look around for the Maitre d'.
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"Call me Trog." He said bluntly. Little bit stiff aren't they... Trog turned as the Ork walked passed. "Guess it's close enough to time. Just in case though, there is a service entry out back and an emergency exit on the side, we may have to use 'em. Trog began to follow the Ork.
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"Interesting choice for a name, Omae. One i hear too much of the time - even if only behind my back. Mine's Concrete." He looks back at Alicia with a smile. "Well, the other one. Anyway i am happy since it seems i am not the only one who has done some prep. Still i am not expecting any trouble from our hosts. They probably already have more drek on the table than they can handle."
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Siren suppressed a chuckle at Concrete's unexpected "Danger Magnet" gag, but she couldn't help but think that he was right. The unfortunately-named troll certainly seemed to draw a lot of attention to himself, but surely their employer knew what he was doing. Maybe that's why I'm here... cover for the gaffes, keep the knuckle-draggers in check? Or, drek, maybe I got that message on accident...
"Trog, yes?" Alicia couldn't help but be a little uncomfortable with the slur, but if that's what he liked to be called... "You can call me Siren." He began to follow the two men into the restaurant, sending an AR text back to Concrete's commlink. And if you wouldn't mind calling me Siren, too, for the time being? If anybody's thick enough to not recognize me, well... I'd like to keep it that way.
She hoped Concrete didn't take it the wrong way; he seemed like a nice enough guy, and she appreciated him not making it all awkward when he recognized who she is. Still, it was a worrying sign... Cutpurse was getting big. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her double-lives separate.
She shot Concrete her brightest smile. "How about that capuccino, chummer?"
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Funny little thing, though it's nice to see someone uneasy about my name...Doesn't happen often Trog smiled at Siren due to his thoughts, but immediately resumed his gruff exterior. "If my name makes you squirm, you can call me Igor... or just say 'Hey big guy', since that's what I am after all!" Trog gave a short bellow of laughter at his own joke, finding himself to be quite funny.
Trog turned to Concrete, "Concrete huh? Interesting choice yourself. As for my own... If someone has to say 'Trog did good', well then it makes them to use the word in a positive way." As they walked closer to the building, Trog stopped by the new, slightly agitated looking woman by the entrance. "And who might you be?"
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The time is: 8:51am
The door flies open and Massimo greets the now amassing team at the door in a shirt that's louder than his greeting.
"What the frag is youz idiots all doin' standing aroun' the front door for? Get inside before somebody sees yas!!"
The team enters the restaurant one at a time and without letting their guard down except for Needle who seems to not be sensing any danger at all. Don Lorenzo, the head of the Bigio family, is seated at one of the tables with a young girl who looks like she's been through a rough night out and motions for everyone to approach. He takes stock of all the team members, sizing them up without saying a word. He glances over to Massimo who exaggeratedly reflects the Don's facial expression of worry before throwing both arms up in desperation and saying:
"They was the only decent professionals I'z could find on short notice!
The Don stands up slowly, showing his large frame. A beast of a human, he beings to speak softly but with an obvious worriment in his voice:
"I have a problem. My daughter, Maria, went missing a few hours ago in Redmond. She was with her friend Ashley here...
he motions to the distraught girl still sitting at the table...
... when she went missin'. I will pay you TEN THOUSAND NUYEN for the safe return of my daughter. Ashley here will help as much as she can. Please, find her and bring her back to me!
The Don turns his back to hide his emotion, refusing to show weakness to the runners.
Ashley, in skimpy clothing and heavy makeup and mascara running down her face, starts talking a mile a minute:
"Mee's and Maria was goin' out for a night on the town togetha, just have some drinks and watch Nabo at The Skeleton, know what I'm sayin'? Well, I'z go to tha bar to gets us some drinks and when I come back to find her, she's gone! I looked all over the place for her but Nabo had already come on and the music had gotten REALLY loud and I could barely hear myself think! I asked the bouncers if they had seen Maria and they told me she had left with some guy just minutes before. I figured, I dunno...
She looks to Don Lorenzo who's peering out through some window blinds and continues on with the following part of the story in a quieter tone...
... I dunno, maybe she went into the alley to make out with this guy. At this point I was more pissed than scared but when I walked into the alley to look for her I heard a comlink beepin'. I found it in the middle of the alley...
Ashley begins to hold back whimpers while drying her eyes with a napkin...
... Ashley's comlink in panic mode. I picked it up and her dad was on the other side screaming 'Ashely!' 'What's going on!?' and when I told him I lost her and think somethin' may have happened, he told me to stay put and then came by to pick me up."
Ashley begins to breakdown into tears fully now.
Massimo comes over and puts his hand on Concrete's shoulder, "Guys, we need to find this girl quick. There's no tellin' who's she's with's or what they's is doin' to her. If you guys pull this off for me and make me look good I can guarantee you'll have more work down the road if you want it. That's all I've got for ya's."
The Don, who had been standing with his back towards the team at the other end of the restaurant since Ashley began speaking, slammed on a table with both fists and crushing it before walking into the kitchen.
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As she stood outside the door, waiting to see if anyone would answer her knocking, she started thinking this might not be the right place. Here she was standing all alone, waiting...when she could be sleeping. But then Trog asked her who she might be, and her lack of social skills decided to rear its ugly head.
"Well, I might be the President of the UCAS. Then again, I might not. I might be a homeless girl, standing here trying to get the attention of the owner so I can scam him out of some food. Then again, I might not be that either. I might be any number of different people who you haven't met yet. But seeing as you are, in all likelihood, referring to what my name is, you can call me Needle. As in 'hypodermic'."
...
Once inside the restaurant, Needle takes a seat at any available table near where Don and Massimo are seated, barely paying attention to anything that might be out of the ordinary. She may be smart as a whip when it comes to the matrix and medicine, but social situations were not her strong suit. The Matrix was her home; this physical world...not so much.
When Ashley finishes speaking, Needle focuses on the one piece of information she found relevant: Mia's commlink. And her social awkwardness reared its ugly head again.
"Her commlink...we'll need that. At least temporarily. It may hold some clues as to who she was last with, where she may have been headed, and why she was taken. She could have been looking something up when she was swiped, which could lead us to her. Maybe go through her contact list and hit them up as well. I mean, I'm sure you thought of all of this, right? But it couldn't hurt to have someone take a second look."
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Lasciel listened to the story and then closed her eyes briefly, changing her visual perception to the Astral. She looked around the room casually, assensing everyone's Auras to see if they could find anything else out about them.
Assensing Test: Order Massimo The Don Ashley The Pretty Elf The Orc The Troll The new girl (snape) (4d6.hits(5)=2, 4d6.hits(5)=2, 4d6.hits(5)=1, 4d6.hits(5)=2, 4d6.hits(5)=1, 4d6.hits(5)=1, 4d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949005/)
2 hits on Massimo
2 hits on the Don
1 hit on Ashley
2 hits on Siren
1 hit on the Orc
1 hit on the Troll
1 hit on Snape
Sorry if I missed someone, will assense you later, I did it on one roll 7 times instead of 7 individual rolls, if you want them all individually in the future let me know.
-
Ashley digs through her purse for half a second before sliding Maria's comlink across the table to Needle.
Meanwhile, Lasciel's dip into the astral gave her insight into her true surroundings.
Massimo's aura shows his emotions as a mix between worry and excitement, but it's hard to pin point exactly which one... the closest emotion could be likened to getting ready to ride on a thrill ride, but worried that the safety harness might actually come off and result in a bad ending. His aura is orange.
The Don's aura betrays all of the emotions he was trying to supress. The man is devestated and his aura resembles a violent fire of a dark red blood color conveying anger as well as deep sadness.
Ashley's aura is weak, showing that she's not in great shape. Her aura is suffering from the traumatic night she just went through of having her friend go missing.
-
She closed her eyes, forcing out the astral sight before opening them again, I am truly sorry to hear your daughter is missing sir, she said towards the Don, the emotion in her aura actually got to her, as much as she needed the money and wanted the reputation, helping someone in so much distress seemed even more important to her for once. Please forgive me sir if any of my questions for Ashley come across wrong, I only have your daughter's best interests in heart and do not mean to offend.
Etiquette test (8d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949180/)
Not sure if its needed or not, but if it is the roll is to not offend the Don
She turned to Ashley, Ashley, were you or Maria drinking or anything like that when you were out? Or did anyone buy Maria any drinks, or did she leave any drinks unattended even for a moment? Or was she getting any more attention from others than usual?
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And if you wouldn't mind calling me Siren, too, for the time being? If anybody's thick enough to not recognize me, well... I'd like to keep it that way.
No problem. I wasn’t planning to make this harder on you than it already might be. :)
-
Lasciel listened to the story and then closed her eyes briefly, changing her visual perception to the Astral. She looked around the room casually, assensing everyone's Auras to see if they could find anything else out about them.
1 hit on the Orc
Concrete’s aura shows he is a healthy mundane ork. On the inside he looks a little concerned and annoyed.
-
Turning to Massimo Concrete starts in a calm voice. „Hope you are ready for the hard questions.” Easier than asking these of the Don himself though. „We need the exact time when she left the club. Also, did you have any active tracking device on her person or apparel during the time of the incident? If yes, when didi t go offline?” Pausing to give time for the answers he continues. „ What really worries me is that you do not use your people for this operation. This suggests that you either suspect another organization or an inside job which might be an attack on the Don himself. Care to elaborate?”
As if giving himself an idea, Concrete thought about what he knew about the Skeleton, if it had any connections to some organized crime syndicate, and what gang territory it was in.
Skeleton: INT(4) + Bars and Clubs: Seattle(5) + Mnemonic enhancer(1) (10d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949281/)
Syndicate connections: INT(4) + Underworld(2) + Mnemonic enhancer(1) (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949282/)
Gang terrritory: INT(4) + Gangs: Seattle(4) + Mnemonic enhancer(1) (9d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949284/) (Note: i realized i rolled only 7 dice on the first attempt so i rerolled with 9)
He also sent a message to Siren. Please ask the girl if they met someone they knew in the club. She doesn’t need me there right now.
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She closed her eyes, forcing out the astral sight before opening them again, I am truly sorry to hear your daughter is missing sir, she said towards the Don, the emotion in her aura actually got to her, as much as she needed the money and wanted the reputation, helping someone in so much distress seemed even more important to her for once. Please forgive me sir if any of my questions for Ashley come across wrong, I only have your daughter's best interests in heart and do not mean to offend.
Etiquette test (8d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949180/)
Not sure if its needed or not, but if it is the roll is to not offend the Don
She turned to Ashley, Ashley, were you or Maria drinking or anything like that when you were out? Or did anyone buy Maria any drinks, or did she leave any drinks unattended even for a moment? Or was she getting any more attention from others than usual?
Ashley starts, "Well yeah we had a few drinks but we wasn't wasted or anythin' like that I swear. Maria is a pretty girl, ya know? There's always creeps trying to come at us and buy us drinks. I can't say I noticed anyone especially creepy talking to to her at the show. As for slipping something in her drink... God I don't even want to think about that but... It might have been the only way Maria would have left the club with some guy like that so quick, ya know? My friend is no slut! She wouldn't just LEAVE with some guy especially when we were at the show together!"
-
Turning to Massimo Concrete starts in a calm voice. „Hope you are ready for the hard questions.” Easier than asking these of the Don himself though. „We need the exact time when she left the club. Also, did you have any active tracking device on her person or apparel during the time of the incident? If yes, when didi t go offline?” Pausing to give time for the answers he continues. „ What really worries me is that you do not use your people for this operation. This suggests that you either suspect another organization or an inside job which might be an attack on the Don himself. Care to elaborate?”
As if giving himself an idea, Concrete thought about what he knew about the Skeleton, if it had any connections to some organized crime syndicate, and what gang territory it was in.
Skeleton: INT(4) + Bars and Clubs: Seattle(5) + Mnemonic enhancer(1) (10d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949281/)
Syndicate connections: INT(4) + Underworld(2) + Mnemonic enhancer(1) (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949282/)
Gang terrritory: INT(4) + Gangs: Seattle(4) + Mnemonic enhancer(1) (9d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949284/) (Note: i realized i rolled only 7 dice on the first attempt so i rerolled with 9)
He also sent a message to Siren. Please ask the girl if they met someone they knew in the club. She doesn’t need me there right now.
Massimo starts, We picked up the girl at around 2:30am, about 10 minutes after The Don got the call. As for trackin' devices, the closest thing to that was her's comlink. As for the motives, it's really none of your fraggin' business why we call yous, capiche? But the thruths is, we have a lot of "people" that do work for us, but not exactly the kind that does what yous does. We're not knockin' over a jewelry store or askins ya to whack someone. The Don wants this takin' care of by professionals and a in a discreet way so's as to protect his daughter's safety as well as her's reputation from within the family. Any other stupid questions? You're breakin my balls, tusker!"
Concrete tried to recall what he knew about The Skeleton. It wasn't hard, as The Skeleton is one of the most popular bars in "upscale" Redmond. Plenty of well known artists got their start at that place and many, like the rising Ork Rock star Nabo, whom the girls had went to see, sometimes come back to almost pay their respects in a way. Far from a dingy dive bar, the place is a serious business establishment with plenty of security systems and bouncers.
Although Concrete couldn't put a finger on any kind of Syndicate connection to The Skeleton, he did know of two local gangs, the Rust Stilettos and the Crimson Crush who frequent that area, but couldn't remember much more past that.
-
Siren followed the others into the restaurant, lips pressed together in a neutral expression as she was reaquainted with Massimo. When they'd met after one of her shows, he'd been on the verge of blackout drunk, babbling something about "work." She wasn't sure if he was sincere or trying to hit on her (and, in fact, she still wasn't), but for whatever reason they exchanged commcodes. After receiving the back-handed compliment of "decent professional," she still wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or flattered. She was, in her opinion, more than decent... but professional was admittedly a stretch.
Siren's expression softened visibly when she learned why they had been summoned, however. The Don was clearly a hardened criminal, and Siren was sure he had more than his fair share of blood on his hands, but the obvious concern and worry on his face was made all the more poignant coming from such an tough, barrel-chested gorilla of a man. She did jump a little, however, when he casually crushed the table. Have to find this girl, indeed... she thought. Not just to protect the quasi-innocent, but to keep my spine intact, too. Truly a win-win.
When Ashley began to speak, Siren immediately moved to take a seat opposite her. She looked the girl straight in the eyes, her expression conveying kindness and concern. Secretly, however, she was scanning Ashley's every make-up smeared feature for the barest hint of a lie.
Doing a sense motive roll on Ashley for what she's told us so far:
Negotiation (Sense Motive) = (17d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949453/)
When Ashley mentioned seeing "Nabo at The Skeleton," Siren immediately furrowed her brow in thought, trying to recall if she'd heard either of those before. Was The Skeleton a bar? A music venue?
Got the distinct impression that Nabo is a musician or performer of some kind, so doing some knowledge rolls I think might be relevant:
Bars and Clubs (The Skeleton) = (7d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949455/)
Music (The Skeleton) = (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949456/)
Music (Nabo) = (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949457/)
She continued listening to Ashley as others put questions to her. She was also pleased to see the girl give up the commlink; if Needle felt she could get something useful from it, fantastic. All Siren knew was that she was near useless with the things. The elf was all about words over code, and people over computers, and letting Needle handle the no-doubt-useful commlink let her keep her attention on Ashley.
It was at about this time that she received Concrete's message. It was a good question, and she intended to ask it, but first she had to convince Ashley of their intentions. She reached out, placing her slim hand near Ashley's on the white tablecloth. Not quite touching the girl, but it was meant to be a reassuring gesture, a literal "reaching out." "You've been through one hell of a night, sweetie," Siren purred, sounding every bit like that cool aunt you could confide in or that one high school teacher you actually liked. "And it's almost over. We're going to do everything we can to find Maria, but we're going to have to ask you some uncomfortable questions. I want you to know we do not mean any disrespect..." Siren pasued here for emphasis, looking Ashley straight in the eyes. "We just need to know everything we can so we can find her as soon as possible and know she's safe. And we need you to be honest."
Trying to encourage/reassure Ashley. I'm not sure, but I think this is a Leadership test of some type, most likely Persuasion or Morale.
Leadership (Morale) = (13d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949462/)
With that said, Siren continued, starting with what Concrete wanted to know. "Did you run into anybody you knew at The Skeleton? Old friends, acquaintances, anybody else that might've seen and recognized Maria?" Other witnesses or leads would help, Siren thought to herself.
Going to run Negotation rolls for asking Ashley questions, unless told to do otherwise. I'd quess they'd be Sense Motive to verify whether or not she's telling the truth:
Negotiation = (17d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949464/)
Siren took a breath before asking her next question. "I also need to know if Maria was mixed up in anything bad. Any bad habits, even little ones? Drugs or BTLs or anything? We're not here to judge you or her, Ashley, but we need to know this sort of thing. Any angry ex-boyfriends, anything she seemed worried or stressed out about?"
Negotiation = (17d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949468/)
Aww, yeah. Spill it, baby. Siren's gonna Barbara Walters your ass.
-
Lasciel listened to the story and then closed her eyes briefly, changing her visual perception to the Astral. She looked around the room casually, assensing everyone's Auras to see if they could find anything else out about them.
2 hits on Siren
Siren's aura is a roiling mixture of yellow streaked with orange, indicating a great deal of confidence but also stress and discomfort. She's clearly trying real damn hard. You notice she has no 'ware whatsoever. You can also tell she's Awakened, but you do not know to what extent.
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Massimo starts, We picked up the girl at around 2:30am, about 10 minutes after The Don got the call. As for trackin' devices, the closest thing to that was her's comlink. As for the motives, it's really none of your fraggin' business why we call yous, capiche? But the thruths is, we have a lot of "people" that do work for us, but not exactly the kind that does what yous does. We're not knockin' over a jewelry store or askins ya to whack someone. The Don wants this takin' care of by professionals and a in a discreet way so's as to protect his daughter's safety as well as her's reputation from within the family. Any other stupid questions? You're breakin my balls, tusker!"
Concrete tried to smooth the situation immediately, thinking to himself He is understandably on the edge. "Didn't mean to offend or pry, chummer. I think you already helped make the picture clearer with your answer. I don't know who else is in but i will do exactly as the Don asked." I don't know about discretion, however. I wonder if they noticed the troll in SWAT armor. "I told you that the questions will be hard but if you think them stupid i stop asking and leave you be." With that the ork stepped back and took another cigarette from the pack. It's fraggin almost empty again.
Etiquette to smooth the sit: CHA(3) + Etiquette(1) + Empathy soft(3) (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949481/)
A note, if Lasciel is still assensing.
The annoyance starts to build up slowly in the ork.
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Siren notices that Trog's aura is a strange mixture of red, dark yellow, and a small amount of purple, almost like a strange flame. Lasciel can tell Trog is agitated, suspicious and after the Don smashed the table he is impressed. Trog's aura shines a little brighter than most of the other auras in the room, hinting that he is Awakened.
While listening to Ashley's story, Trog tried to recall any information he might know about The Skeleton or Nobo.
Music check for The Skeleton (4d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949557/) (I rolled three 1's, so this check ends in a critical glitch)
Music Check for Ork Rocker Nobo (4d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949559/)
Trog walked up to Massimo and flatly asked, "10,000 nuyen for each of us I assume is what the Don meant?"
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Needle picked up the commlink, turning it over in her hand several times as she looked it over. Nothing special about it on the outside, of course. It was what was on the inside that she was interested in.
"I expect my share of the payoff on an untraceable credstick upon completion of the job. Nothing against the rest of the people here, but I prefer to have my share given directly to me, and not put in some community trust fund.
"Interesting words, 'trust fund'. A community pool of some type of currency or otherwise barterable goods that is doled out at given points to specified individuals. Did you know that the concept of a trust, or a relationship whereby property is held by one person for the benefit of another - dates back to Roman law in the 12th and 13th centuries? While the law itself has merit, I don't like to gamble with what I'm supposed to get paid for doing a job.
"Anyhow, if you'll all excuse me, I have work to do."
With that, Needle pushes her public - but fake - commcode of Jesse Holton from the CMT Clip to the rest of the team, readying it to also receive the commcodes from the others. She knows better than to push the commcode of her Erika Elite to anybody she doesn't know very well. And the list of people she knows well is rather short. In fact, there's nobody on that list outside of Dr. Hall.
"Don't call me Needle on that, please."
She stands up and, without even saying so much as goodbye, walks out of the restaurant, heading towards the bus.
Saving the below so I don't lose the rolls.
Once there, she gives the pilot program instructions to head towards The Skeleton, and then she climbs into her rigger cocoon.
Now, let's see what secrets this commlink has on it.
Commlink stats: Erika Elite/Novatech Navi OS, Response 5, Signal 5, Firewall 6, System 6, Hardening 6, Customized Interface, Non-Standard Wireless Link 6
Running Programs: Browse 6, Decrypt 6, Exploit 6, Stealth 6
Response Degradation: None until I am running 5 programs at once.
Ok, I'm going to pick through the commlink with a fine toothed comb. For starters, I'm going to hack the central node on it so that I have access to EVERYTHING on it. Although I've got some time, I'm going to do this with Hacking on the Fly.
Hacking on the fly is an Hacking + Exploit (target’s Firewall, Complex Action) Extended Test. Reaching the threshold will get you a user account on the node. If you want a security account, increase the threshold by +3, for an admin account increase it by +6. When you beat the threshold and gain the account, you are automatically logged onto the node with that level of access, and do not need to spend a Log On action (unless you log off ).
Such brute force hacks can attract attention. Each time you take a Hack on the Fly action, the target node makes a free roll on an Analyze + Firewall (hacker’s Stealth) Extended Test. If the node detects you an alert is triggered, even if you have succeeded in your attempt (Alerts, p. 238).
I'm going for an Admin account here, so the threshold is going to be the commlink's Firewall + 6. Every attempt I make is going to allow the commlink itself a chance to detect me, with its target threshold equal to my Stealth rating. The commlink gets to roll Analyze + Firewall, but only gets Analyze if that program is running on the commlink itself.
Roll 1: 17d6.hits(5) = 5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949568/)
Roll 2: 16d6.hits(5) = 6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949570/)
I doubt that her commlink has a Firewall rating of 11+, so that should do it. At this point, I'm going to stop running Exploit as I should no longer need it, replacing it with Sniffer. Now I'm going to start picking through her commlink as an Admin, running several data searches through her phone. Remember that I have an admin account, so nothing should be off-limits to me on her phone.
Data Search 1, Incoming Messages (All incoming messages for 1 hour prior to and 1 hour after her disappearance): 17d6.hits(5) = 3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949576/)
Data Search 2, Incoming Messages (extended test, continuing on the previous data search): 16d6.hits(5) = 8 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949578/)
Data Search 3, Outgoing Messages (same as data search 1, but for outgoing messages): 17d6.hits(5) = 5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949579/)
Data Search 4, Outgoing Messages (same as data search 2, but for outgoing messages): 16d6.hits(5) = 6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949580/)
Data Search 5, Internet Activity (same parameters as Data Search 1, but for any internet activity): 17d6.hits(5) = 7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949583/)
Data Search 6, Internet Activity (extended test of Data Search 5): 16d6.hits(5) = 5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949585/)
Data Search 7, AR Information (same as data search 1, except for AR information viewed): 17d6.hits(5) = 8 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949586/)
Data Search 8, AR Information (extended test of Data Search 7): 16d6.hits(5) = 6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949588/)
If anything brings back an encrypted file, let me know and I'll start Cryptanalysis to decrypt it. If there are any other rolls you need, let me know and I'll add them.[/spoiler]
-
Before Needle can walk out, Trog puts his hand on her shoulder. "Why leave? It's early in the day, do whatever it is you do here and we can start right away. If anything it'll let us finish this job quicker."
-
Hoi, Omae, the frag are you doin'? Concrete's angry voice comes over the comm to Needle, under the name Mike Curtis. This is not a one-man-gig where you do as you like all the time. Don't slot us like that, at least talk. Fraggin airhead! he thought as he tried to invite the others but Trog into the exchange as he watched the troll and Massimo warily.
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Before Needle can walk out, Trog puts his hand on her shoulder. "Why leave? It's early in the day, do whatever it is you do here and we can start right away. If anything it'll let us finish this job quicker."
On her way out, Needle replies "Because the facilities I have on my bus are better equipped to handle what I'm about to do to this commlink than just doing it here in the open. You are welcome to come with me if you like."
The exchange doesn't stop her from leaving, and it doesn't stop her from doing what she was going to do.
Consider that a ret-con for Trog stopping her. She's still going to her bus, she's still driving to The Skeleton, and she's still hacking the commlink. Unless someone physically stops her, that is.
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Trog shrugs and lets Needle go, turning back to Massimo in anticipation of his answer. Maybe when we're done I'll buy her a drink... see if she's capable of unwinding. She's got the temper of a troll though, not every smoothie can say that.
-
Siren was just as annoyed at Needle's abrupt exit, but she didn't let her face show it. She kept her attention focused squarely on Ashley.
She did, however, send a quick AR text to Trog. Don't ask about money just yet. We need to appear sensitive. I'll see if I can get an advance or something out of Massimo a little later.
-
Shaking his head at the mini tantrum from Needle. Unprofessional. Hate working with amateurs.
Lord settles into the comfy seat of a spare table, his metal hands resting on the table as he drops into Virtual Reality.
Sending a flurry of AR notes and requests.
@Siren
Hey could you ask about the planning for the night. Was it a planned visit to Skeleton or just a night out and they ended up in skeleton.
Anything else you can think of to try determine if the snatch was opportunistic and planned. Lets hope for the former :-)
@Concrete/@Trog
Looks like you two are the sharp point of the spear should the drek hit the air circulatory device. Am i right :-)
Seriously lets get you hooked into my TacNet now or later. Every edge and all that.
@Lasciel
Hey you. Ain't got much a read on you yet. You muscle or something else?
@Massimo
Don't need to know the details, but is there anything in the immediate future for the "family" where someone could benefit from having the Don distracted like this?
-
@Concrete/@Trog
Looks like you two are the sharp point of the spear should the drek hit the air circulatory device. Am i right :-)
Seriously lets get you hooked into my TacNet now or later. Every edge and all that.
Your assumption is mostly correct. I am better at protection detail than brute force operations though. I'd also like if, after finishing here, we all shared our names, basic talents and possibly preferred roles. The latter is not a must, it tends to form by itself, i just like not to wait for the first drek/fan event to figure it out.
TacNet is cool but i dont have my own soft so you must tell me how it works in this case. Later though, after we buzz.
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Recieving Siren's AR message, Trog laughed and clapped Massimo on the shoulder, perhaps a little harder than he meant to, "Just messin' with ya bud, I wouldn't be uncaring enough to ask that yet."
Con on Massimo pretending I was joking. (1d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3949913/)
He then sent a quick message back to Siren, I doubt he'll believe me, I don't lie too good.
Flicking to the message from Lord, Trog couldn't help but smile at the thought. That works good for me, hopefully we get to do a little skull cracking... it's what I'm best at after all. You must be sooooo surprised ;P But I don't have any softs on this comm, so it'll be up to you to give orders.
-
From across the table, Siren picked apart every twitch in Ashley's face. Siren was no stranger to being lied to no thanks in large to her day light profession. However, she failed to pick up on anything but sincerity and genuine worry about her friend... maybe a little guilt for letting it happen too perhaps.
As Siren went over the details of the show, she recalled The Skeleton being a popular club in Redmond, especially for local artists. Getting the main gig on a Saturday night there actually meant something if you were an artist. The flyers she had seen around town and local advertisements cemented Nabo's rising star status. She couldn't recall ever actually hearing any of his music, but being that she's on the local music scene herself, she can safely say she's heard his name mentioned enough times to say he's a big deal in his music genre's scene.
As Siren interjects Ashely's monologue, Siren successfully shows off to the team how she's able to calm the girl down, paving the way for more questions.
It pays off.
Calming down the girl, she remembers, "Hey! When I walked outside, the bouncers told me they saw Maria walking out with some guy! They must know what he looked like!"
Siren took a breath before asking her next question. "I also need to know if Maria was mixed up in anything bad. Any bad habits, even little ones? Drugs or BTLs or anything? We're not here to judge you or her, Ashley, but we need to know this sort of thing. Any angry ex-boyfriends, anything she seemed worried or stressed out about?"
Ashley starts back, "No, no, nothing like that trust me I woulda known. She was always a lot more outgoing and trusting of people than I ever was I guess, but unless..." she drops the volume of her voice again, "...unless it had something to do with her dad's business, forget it. That creep picked her out then and there on the spot."
Concrete, who had a pause in his conversation with Massimo to listen to Ashley, turns to him for his take on Ashley's possible alternate theory about this being an attack on The Don. "No fuckin' way" he conveys with an exagerrated facial expression. His reaction to the ork's onslaught of questions must have been exaggerated as well, meaning nothing by it.
The troll, making enough noise with his presence without saying anything, starts to recall anything he can about The Skeleton. That's an anti troll bar! Trog's anger begins to build as he mistakenly begins to associate the girls with bigots and other metahuman racism. He rushes over to Massimo, putting everyone on the defensive and asks, "10,000 Nuyen for each of us is what I assume the Don Meant?" failing to hold back a snarl.
"Keep your damned voice down!" Massimo "shouts" in a hushed voice. "The Don is in the other room and you're gonna piss him off by asking for MORE money at a time like this! The man's daughter is missing!"
Unfortunately, Siren's advice to not mention money comes too late for Trog. The situation isn't helped by Needle's abrupt exit either.
-
Massimo's warning did little to curb Trog's anger. "Well maybe if his little girl wasn't visiting an anti-Troll club the little bigot wouldn't have been in such danger! Ever think of that? And then you decide sending a Troll right to that place is a good decision?! Composing himself a little bit, Trog continues in a slightly lower voice, though no less iritated. "So you bet your ass I'm asking to know how much I'm making specifically for heading into hostile ground.' Trog then sits on the ground near a table, having just enough common sense to believe he'd break any of the chairs in the room.
While sitting there the members of the group still in the restaurant can hear him "mumbling", which to them is still loud enough to make out most of the words. "Hired to go to anti-Troll bar... idiots.... can't believe... hope Needle... soon."
-
Seeing how things started to escalate Concrete strolled over to the troll and took a seat. "I don't know who told you this drek about The Skeleton being racist, chummer. Some of the most kick-ass rock bands playing there are purely orks and trolls. And they're popular. So i'd give an educational smack or two to the drekhead who told you this prob'ly because he doesn't like you, next time i meet him." On an afterthought he pulled the pack from his pocket, offering it to Trog. "Care for a smoke?"
The message went to those around the girl at the same time. Please make this quick. I don't want to outlast our welcome.
-
Siren sighed inwardly as Trog "covered up" his gaffe. Bless him, at least he takes my suggestions...
She smiled encouragingly as Ashley mentioned the bouncer, and she made a mental note to check up on that. "Great," she said simply, before preparing herself for the more "delicate" questions. Trog's angry outburst temporarily distracted her, though, and for a moment she found herself wondering if The Skeleton really was an anti-troll establishment. Maybe he means the seats aren't big enough... ?
Concrete seemed to defuse the situation, at least temporarily, but she didn't know how long Massimo or the Don's patience would hold... and she didn't blame them. When Ashley assured Siren that Maria wasn't involved with drugs, BTLs, or anything else too terribly unsavory, Siren was inclined to believe her. The elf could spot a liar, and Ashley seemed to genuinely want to help her friend. A moment later, the rather dapper fellow with the fancy-looking cyberarms sent Siren a question:
@Siren
Hey could you ask about the planning for the night. Was it a planned visit to Skeleton or just a night out and they ended up in skeleton.
Anything else you can think of to try determine if the snatch was opportunistic and planned. Lets hope for the former :-)
"Okay... tell me, did you guys plan on going to The Skeleton that night? Or was it on a whim? Did you tell anybody ahead of time where you were going?"
As she waited for Ashley's answer, Alicia sent out a mass text to those still in the restaurant:
Anything else we want to ask Ashley? Like Concrete says, we don't want to wear out our welcome. Besides, the poor thing could use some rest. I think we have enough to go on, though... looks like we're headed to The Skeleton.
-
@Lasciel
Hey you. Ain't got much a read on you yet. You muscle or something else?
Lasciel replied <<Something else, misdirection and support magic are my specialties, I prefer to avoid confrontation when possible, but I can handle myself in a pinch. How about yourself and what shall I call you? You may call me Lasciel.>>
Lasciel watched as the other person left the room abruptly and rolled her eyes, and turned back to the conversation the smooth talker was having.
-
Lasciel replied <<Something else, misdirection and support magic are my specialties, I prefer to avoid confrontation when possible, but I can handle myself in a pinch. How about yourself and what shall I call you? You may call me Lasciel.>>
@Lascial
Cool, I'm Lord, I'm a hacker, Social or Digital. Can handle myself real well in meatspace as well :-)
-
So let's get Miss Feisty back here to discuss our next course of action.
Hmm can't just call on an open commlink, so lets see...
Getting to work, Lord set about creating a something to hide the message in plain sight.
@Jesse Holton
Dear Miss Holton,
Thank you for subscribing to Eidolon Datings' Silver package. We hope you have fun fun fun, and meet lots of interesting people.
Talking of fun. Have we something special or what! A treasure hunt has started in your area. Just get along to the Parolacces Resturant in Bellevue (have a glass of Taéngelé while your there, it's on special!) and meet up with your fellow hunters.
Who knows maybe the clue to get it all started is in your starters pack that you received just recently!
-
Hoi, Omae, the frag are you doin'? Concrete's angry voice comes over the comm to Needle, under the name Mike Curtis. This is not a one-man-gig where you do as you like all the time. Don't slot us like that, at least talk.
After Trog finished with Massimo and Concrete talked to him of the Skeleton, he tried again, inviting everybody this time. Would you at least give us something? I'd prefer personally but it's OK on the comm.
-
Lasciel replied <<Something else, misdirection and support magic are my specialties, I prefer to avoid confrontation when possible, but I can handle myself in a pinch. How about yourself and what shall I call you? You may call me Lasciel.>>
@Lascial
Cool, I'm Lord, I'm a hacker, Social or Digital. Can handle myself real well in meatspace as well :-)
<<@Lord Glad to see we have some technical expertise here, any chance of you being able to trace Miss Holton's whereabouts if she flies the coupe to get Maria's link back? I want that link back, even if an unfortunate accident has to occur to Miss Holton to make it happen>>
She cracked her knuckles in frustration before taking a deep breath to calm down and get back to business.
-
Trog took a cigarette with a sigh. "Thanks Chummer, but don't say I didn't warn you when we get there." Then he pulled up his AR display and sent a response back to Siren. Ask if she can describe the bartenders that were there that night, they could've been bought off if this is an actual kidnapping and not his daughter trying to get away.
-
Siren asked, "Okay... tell me, did you guys plan on going to The Skeleton that night? Or was it on a whim? Did you tell anybody ahead of time where you were going?"
Ashley replied, "I mean it was kinda-sorta on a whim. We heards about it on the radio just yesterday and thought it'd be cool to go."
At this point, Needle came right back through the door. She stared blankly into space, and no one was quite sure who she was speaking to. Maybe she didn't know who to speak to so she just picked an arbitrary spot in space while addressing everyone. "I've backed up the entire commlink already... Took a lot less time than I thought... must have been relatively new." She places it on the nearest table and, as she walks out through the door, without even turning her head to speak, mumbles just loudly enough so everyone can hear, "Will call if anything."
Massimo let's out a huge sigh and throws his eyeballs around his sockets in another one of his now signature exaggerated expressions of disbelief. Before a pause, he says, "Anyone else gonna follow suit and get the frag out of here and find that girl? Time's a wastin'!"
The time is: 9:12am
-
Despite having enough of the tension almost physically present in the room, Concrete didn't want to leave without the others. He made another attempt at bringing the group into the same conversation, however, requesting connection through their comms. As he didn't want to disrupt Siren, she only received the invitation as a commcode where she could join whenever she wanted.
"Well, i think it's time for the mutual introductions. My name's Concrete, or Mike where others can hear. Mainly worked protection detail until now in both low and high places."
-
"I'm Lasciel, Lash for short. I twirl my little fingers and people do what I want, its like magic. I can cast sling some combative spells, but I prefer a support role". She smiled, "oh and I have a nice butt"
-
Trog. Trog for short too. If it makes you squeamish to use a slur just call me Igor or Big Guy. I used to be a pro boxer, good at it too. I'm big and burly, so the little ones might want to stand behind me if guns start firing. My butts just ok. Trog then approximated a wink at both Lasciel and Siren, though it looked more like a weird blink.
-
Siren silently accepted the invitation from Concrete just in time to catch the lingering introductions. She was surprised to hear Lash was a mage of some type. She didn't work with them often, despite her own... talents. But it would certainly help to have one on the team. Butt-evaluations, however, would have to wait for later. For now, Siren's attention was still focused squarely on Ashley.
She decided to ask Trog's question, primarily out of a desire to not piss off a massive angry troll. She doubted it would help much, since they already had a lead on the bouncer that recognized Maria, and Siren was pretty sure she could bluff and schmooze her way into finding out who was working that night (bartenders love to gossip, after all), but hey, it might prove useful. "Okay, Ashley, I believe. Hard questions are over. Just a couple more... do remember what the bartender looked like that night? Was there more than one? Just want to check and make sure nobody tampered with Maria's drink. Also, just out of curiosity, what type of music does Nabo play?" The last question was a background detail, but could maybe give them a bit of forewarning as to what sort of crowd they were about to try and infiltrate.
Siren then sent a quick text message to the group. Hey, everybody. You can call me Siren. Sorry I've been a bit distracted, but I'm good with people and just trying to get what we can out of the poor girl before we send her off to bed. As for my talents, well... I mostly just sing. She couldn't help but be just a little mysterious...
As she waited for Ashley's response, she sent one more message to Massimo. I think we're about ready to go, sorry to stress you and Ashley out, Massimo. There is one thing I want t discuss with you, though, before we go. And that's payment. Promise you'll hear me out.
-
Ashley described the bartender to Siren: a young ork, young probably by human standards, with dark orange skin and an earring.
"Nabo plays ork rock. It's great stuff, but Maria always liked it more than I did. She was probably really wound up in the music and didn't notice if anyone slipped anything in her drink."
Massimo shot back at Siren, "Look, at least show me you's got a lead to woirk with and then maybe, MAYBE, we can meet up again and when we has a better idea of what happened to Maria, we's can talk about maybe forkin' some more nuyen for any unexpected troubles."
-
She sent a message to the team <<if we can get the security footage at the club from last night we may find out who nabbed her. Although I don't think they will be just willing to turn over the footage for no reason, and I don't think it is in our best interest for them to know who Maria's father was. If this was a random act instead of a targeted one then that may cause it to end badly. Maybe we can bat some eyelashes and drop a couple of tears to get the security chief to get us what we want if our technowiz doesn't want to risk stealing it through the network. And I'd prefer Concrete not to have to bust any heads, well yet. Back in my professional days, my roommate was caught on trideo with a Governor and the Governor was blackmailed, maybe we can pull a con similar where we're trying to find out exactly what or blackmailers have. I'm sure one of us girls can give a good sob story, and Concrete can stomp on one of our toes if we need a real tear>>
But I'm always open to other approaches too, especially if I don't end up with a broken toe.
-
Trog sent a message to the team after Ashley's answer. Hmm... Ork Rock, never been sure if I like it. If you want tears Lash I could always step on you, though that might break your toe instead. You sure we don't want to just break down the door? That's always been the funnest way to me. If we go for subtlety though, just don't ask me to lie, I don't lie good.
You're a singer Siren? Anything we'd have ever heard of?
-
Trog sent a message to the team after Ashley's answer. Hmm... Ork Rock, never been sure if I like it. If you want tears Lash I could always step on you, though that might break your toe instead. You sure we don't want to just break down the door? That's always been the funnest way to me. If we go for subtlety though, just don't ask me to lie, I don't lie good.
You're a singer Siren? Anything we'd have ever heard of?
<<Busting down doors in a club just to get footage may not be the best option. But I promise you, if we do find out who kidnapped her, I'm sure you'll get a chance to break some noses and hopefully dangle someone off of the side of a building for more information before dropping him>> she smiled at that idea, she didn't quite like people who were mean to women, <<And I'm sure the Don wouldn't mind, might even give us a bonus>>
-
Trog began to laugh, "Now who told you about that? That wasn't for information though, he just got on my bad side, something about my mother I think." Trog then stood up. "Well... Are we ready? Let's go see these racist bastards. Or the not so-racist-bastards as Concrete claims them to be."
-
"I'm OK with going. We'll get back to you if we find anything, Massimo." Standing up, Concrete shot a questioning look at Lord. The others seemed ready to move.
"Can someone give me a lift to Skeleton? Wouldn't want you to wait for me if i used PT to get there."
-
"Ork rock?" Siren's face lit up with something approaching genuine delight at Ashley's response. "I love ork rock. Oh man, I'll have to check him out." Siren couldn't help but feel a little ashamed she didn't know more about Nabo; she used to genuinely be into the ork rock thing. Sure, it'd been a few decades, but she still had a soft spot for it. After a moment, she forced her expression to become a bit more serious. "Anyway, sweetie, you go get some rest. I promise you me and my friends will do everything we can to find Maria."
With that, Siren twisted in her seat to face Massimo and the rest of the group. She kept her communication on the Matrix, however... she didn't want to wound Ashley further by revealing that she was bargaining with Maria's life... which, in many respects (try as she might to ignore it) she was. She did, however, forward her previous message to Massimo and his response to the rest of the group. No reason not to keep them in loop when it came to negotations.
In response to Trog's questions, Siren sent the following to the group: Go on ahead if you really want, Trog. I'll catch up. I'm going to see if I can squeeze an advance out of Massimo. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty friggin' nuyen-poor at the moment, and we might need it. She then added, privately and just for Trog: As for whether or not you've heard of me... talk to me after the run, chummer. I might have some audio files for you. She added an incredibly tacky AR winky face to the end just for the hell of it.
With that said, she focused her attention squarely on Massimo, fixing her jade-green eyes strictly on his sweating, paunchy face. I hear you, Massimo, and I don't want you to think for a second I don't understand the position you're in. Ten thousand nuyen is a fair price, and we're not contesting that, and everybody on the team is dedicated to getting Maria back safe and sound. Siren sucked in a short little breath through her nostrils before continuing. She made sure to look Masssimo dead in the eyes the entire time, her face a mask of seemingly-genuine concern and worry. She continued to speak to Massimo over the Matrix, however, out of concern for Ashley. But I'm not a wealthy woman. I'm nuyen-poor at the moment. And if we need the cash to do something, buy something, to get Maria safe as soon as possible, I'm not sure I want to wait on you or the even the Don's approval for that. I know you're in a tough spot, Massimo, but all I'm saying is if you can secure us an advance... any sort of advance, even, I can guarantee that it will only go toward assuring Maria's safety. And, she thought to herself silently, making you look good in front of the Don. I'm not asking for miracles here, she continued, being sure to patch the rest of the team through for the remainder of the negotation. I'm just saying it would be good to know ahead of time what sort of expense account we're working with. Keep us abreast of the situation, yeah?
All the while, she kept staring at Massimo with those hypnotic, jade-green eyes...
C'mon... big nuyen...
Negotiation (Bargaining) = (17d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3956874/)
Eh... good, not great. Let's roll with it and see what happens.
-
Massimo, annoyed, replies to Siren, "I'll give you a grand as an advance to your 10k. When you find the girl, it'll be another 9k to round out the offer, capiche? Don't slot around with my money, sweet heart. The Don'll have you singing till your voice cuts out to make back the money if you run off with it."
Massimo walks out the door, giving a subtle gesture to Siren to follow him. Once outside, he and Siren walk into the parking lot. Massimo slides into the passenger seat of a black sedan and opens up the glove compartment. He hands Siren a large yellow envelope. "Don't you's dare opens this thin' in front of too many people..."
Siren checks the contents and counts 1,000 Nuyen in credsticks of varying denominations.
-
Joining his rig his 'link to the group channel Lord gave a round down of what he understood of the situation do far. His DNI to voice software still managed to keep the British lilt.
So this is what we now so far. One. Maria was targeted specifically. Two. There is a bartender that may know if the drink was spiked. Three. We know it all went down outside a club called the Skeleton
So that raises the question of what is the next step. My recommendation is that we go too Skeleton and see if A they have security footage of the alleyway. B security footage of the person that approaches Maria within the club.
I think the strategy should be to try talk/bribe the footage out of them, failing that i'll try hack my way into the system and retrieve the footage. If all that fails I think our Plan Fubar will be to goes in guns hot since we don't have the luxury of time considering who our employer is.
So with that said is everyone comfortable with the level of gear that they are carrying currently or do we need a supply run.
Secondly do we have transport for the team?
-
Concrete shook his head once while hearing out Lord. I agree with the general plan and i also think Lash's idea could work he replied, then continued with an AR wink Though i don't plan on any stomping. I can be scary enough to make someone cry without it. I still think this might have been a random grab and Maria was chosen because she was more susceptible and less attentive. Anyway, i have everything i need with me. I would appreciate a lift as i said earlier.
Then, like a shock, it hit him. Almost forgot the most important item. Lord, can you get a picture of Maria from the backup data Needle mentioned? I'm pretty sure she will be tagged on at least some of the pictures on her comm. I wouldn't ask Massimo for it if we already have one.
-
Siren followed Massimo out into the parking lot. She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when Massimo pulled out a literal fistful of credsticks and shoved it toward her. Actual, physical (stealable) money like that seemed more like a liability than an advantage, but at least it was walking-around money. And the fact that he was willing to give them an advance at all was quite the vote of confidence, despite his griping. Siren smiled at Massimo as she tucked the credsticks into the pocket of her yellow peacoat. "Appreciate it, Massimo. We'll let you know as soon as we have something substantive. I'm going to go meet up with the others, head over to The Skeleton."
Stepping back into the restaurant, Siren rejoined the planning session. "Hey chummers... so we're in agreement, trying to shmooze our way to what we want is plan A?" she said out loud as she re-emerged. She swapped back to Matrix texts for the sensitive bits, though. Don't forget the bouncer, either. The one that recognized Maria? But it's still quite early, he might be off-duty. One thing I should mention... it's possible I might be recognized at The Skeleton. She shot Concrete a meaningful look. Not my usual hangout, but close. With that in mind, I nominate Lash to play the compromised damsel. The one we're trying to get the tapes for. I'm a little worried people might remember not seeing me there, otherwise.
As for transport, she continued, I have a car parked a bit up the street. Can bring three with me... but you, big fella? She turned her attention to Trog. Not quite certain you'd fit.
-
Stepping back into the restaurant, Siren rejoined the planning session. "Hey chummers... so we're in agreement, trying to shmooze our way to what we want is plan A?" she said out loud as she re-emerged. She swapped back to Matrix texts for the sensitive bits, though. Don't forget the bouncer, either. The one that recognized Maria? But it's still quite early, he might be off-duty. One thing I should mention... it's possible I might be recognized at The Skeleton. She shot Concrete a meaningful look. Not my usual hangout, but close. With that in mind, I nominate Lash to play the compromised damsel. The one we're trying to get the tapes for. I'm a little worried people might remember not seeing me there, otherwise.
As for transport, she continued, I have a car parked a bit up the street. Can bring three with me... but you, big fella? She turned her attention to Trog. Not quite certain you'd fit.
I'll ride with you, If I'm the compromised damsel in distress I may be too compromised to be riding my bike around town. It may work out to our favor if you are recognized, especially if any of them are fans of your singing. Talented singer's friend in trouble, if you ever hit the big times maybe they can call in a favor and get a back stage pass. Impress the ladies that they know you or something. She walked around the back, to where Siren had mentioned,
-
The time is: 9:48am
The Skeleton
You arrive at the bar that Maria was last seen at. The Skeleton stands between two legitimate enough looking buildings with legitimate enough looking businesses. One alleyway has a gate that appears to belong to the business next door. It is locked with a solid mechanical pad lock. The other alleyway curves around the side and is occupied by several dumpsters and cars.
The doors to The Skeleton are closed and, like most clubs, there are no windows.
-
At The Restaurant
"You have a back seat I'm sure Siren. As long as no one else joins us I bet I could fit. I'm big, but bendy! Let's go!"
At The Skeleton
Getting out of the car, Trog stretched and groaned. "Not the most comfortable fit is it?" Trog then switched to his commlink. Should we check out the alleys, or should we head right in? Also, did we ever find a pic of the guy who recognized Maria... He might have to be strongarmed, and I volunteer! Trog then smiled a little bit at the thought.
-
::Concrete::
at Prolacces
Leaving the restaurant was something of a relief. Tension was solid inside. While Siren went over to the car with Massimo, Concrete sized up the others, trying to determine who of them might need protection and who could take care of themselves. And he couldn’t help himself checking out Lasciel and sending a private message to her. <<Nice is an understatement.>>
„Hey, Lash, if you go in one of the cars, do you want to leave your bike or do you want me to bring it with us?”
at the Skeleton
Clubs are one of the most desolate places in the morning Concrete thought when arriving to the bar. He lit a cigarette as soon as he was off the bike/out of the car, inhaling deeply. Well, let’s get on with it. He didn’t need to think about checking the environment for anything unusual, it was his nature.
Perception: INT(4) + Perception(3) + Qualities(4) + ’Warez(6) (17d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3958876/)
-
::Lord::
Stopping to scoop up Maria's commlink from the table. Lord motioned to those of the team that hadn't gone to Sirens car, to come with him.
Okay people, well take my car. Leave the buttons alone, heck just don't touch anything.
As the team settles into the seats, Lord sends the cars pilot instructions to drive to the skeleton nightclub.
-
Trog began walking towards the alley not behind the locked gate. "Anyone else want to come check this out too? Good to have two sets of eyes, or even more." Switching to AR messaging, Trog sent out a message, We might find some trace of Maria in the alley too, though she might've been taken into the locked alley.
-
::Lasciel::
@ Prolacces
She moved her motorcycle behind the restaurant and then walked to Siren's car and got in, "my bike should be fine there"
@ Skeleton
She got out of Siren's car and stretched, "you ready for this Siren?" she then looked at their 'bodyguard' "I appreciate you following us in, its always good to have some muscle just in case the people inside decide we are nosing around too much," She looked at the building and then closed her eyes for a moment and opened them, changing her view to Astral to look around for anything magical.
Assensing the Skeleton from the outside (4d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3959916/)
4d6.hits(5) → [3,4,1,1] = (0)
Wow, that sucks
She closed her eyes and focused, changing her vision back to normal, "looks closed, perhaps we should knock on the door and see if we can't get the ball rolling."
She replied to Trog's message <<I'd help but I'm terrible at finding things, I probably wouldn't have been able to find my commlink this morning if the damned thing wasn't buzzing for this job. I think guy's have been spoiling me a bit too much all of my life.>>
-
Siren stepped out of the car when the car's Auto-Drive announced they had arrived at The Skeleton. The vaunted venue didn't really look like much in the cold light of day, but then again, not many places did. Stretching her legs a bit, she said to Lash, "Yes, let's let Trog to do his thing, then head in with him."
Concrete turned to Lord and Concrete, looking them over. Concrete could definitely pass as another bodyguard, while Lord looked sophisticated enough to pass himself off as a lawyer, music producer, or really anything else he desired. "I'll let you guys decide whether you want to stay here or come inside." Switching over the Matrix texts, she explained: It'd be nice to have you guys inside in case things go south, but the more of us that try to cram into a closed nightclub, the more suspicious the whole thing will look. She then focused on Lord, in particular.
Trying to hack into the security feeds is our plan B, right? I'm afraid all I know about hacking I've seen in trid-shows. How close do you need to be? Is it something you could do outside The Skeleton if you needed?
-
Trog gave a short grunt acknowledging he'd be back soon, and left to check the alley without a locked gate. Like Parolacce's, he focuses on finding other exits, but also keep an eye out for cameras and anything that might look like it belongs to Maria. Wonder what she looks like, can't possibly beat the two in our group... Maybe the Don will be looking for body guards for his daughter after this though, I wouldn't mind a stable job for a while.
Perception in Skeleton's Alley (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3960047/)
-
::Lasciel::
Lasciel smiled, "I think one guard is enough, having just one probably will make security a little nervous as it is, but they may understand, if we walk in with more people then they are going to think we're about to rob the place. But if things look like they are going to get out of hand we'll send out a message before everything goes to Hell, and we can probably hold them off. Besides, unless they are doing something like smuggling drugs through here on the day, there probably wont' be more than 3 guards in the entire building, and a few other employees."
She opened Siren's door and sat down, Slipping her gun and holster out from under her jacket and slid it under her seat, "poor little crying girl probably shouldn't be strapped I guess." she stood up and shut the door, "just incase they get frisky,"
-
Trog's search of the alleyway revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
As the team continued to workout who was going where and how many people were eventually going to make their way into the establishment, one of them spoke up and made the call.
-
Trog came back from the alley with his AR still up and sent messages to the group, Nothing strange over there. Trog then looked between Lasciel and Siren a few times. We said Siren would take the lead on this? I should probably be her new bodyguard then, which means first in the door just in case something happens. And we'll know right off if I'm right about them being racist.
Trog then looked at Concrete and Lord, If we need help, one of us will send you a safe word... Guess we should have one too... How about... Peacock? Trog then motioned for his new protection detail to follow him and walked up to the door and knocked.
-
She opened Siren's door and sat down, Slipping her gun and holster out from under her jacket and slid it under her seat, "poor little crying girl probably shouldn't be strapped I guess." she stood up and shut the door, "just incase they get frisky,"
Siren patted a well-concealed bulge in her peacoat, not unlike the well-concealed bulge of credsticks Massimo had given to her earlier. Specifically, it was her taser, locked and loaded. "Not me, chummer," she said to Lash, following Trog up to The Skeleton's front entrance. "A girl can't be too careful these days, yeah?"
As Trog's meaty fist slammed against the door, Siren subscribed to The Skeleton's Matrix node. She yelled out the following in a loud, clear voice in case a cleaning crew or bouncer was listening, but also forwarded her messages to the node on the off-chance she was wasting her breath on an automated messaging system of some kind. "Hello?" She said, peering up into the nearest light fixture she suspected was a concealed security camera. "I know you guys are closed, but I'm hoping to speak to somebody from management. I got some rather pressing business to discuss concerning my friend here. I promise I'll make it worth your while." With this, she reached into her peacoat and produced the brightly-colored plethora of credsticks Massimo had supplied her with, proudly displaying it for any peeping employees or swiveling security cameras that were no doubt eyeing her at this point.
Let's call this is a Negotation roll to get inside the closed club...
Negotiation (Bargaining = (17d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3960541/)
Seem stuck on 5s lately... let's also add in two extra dice on the off-chance that she's immediately recognized as Alicia Redford and that this is a benefit in this particular situation:
Negotiation (Fame) = (2d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3960542/)
An extra hit. Delightful.
-
::Concrete::
I’ll stay out then with Lord. You are right about too much people. Starting in the direction of the alleyways he added If you give the word, i’ll be in guns blazing. Suppose you can handle anything that doesn’t need that approach. Until then i will also check the alleys. Not that i don’t trust the big guy but he didn’t have an awful lot of time for this.
Then he sent a private message to Siren. <<Hope you’re sure about bringing Mr. Danger Magnet in with you. ???>>
Concrete moved out of sight from the door before the others were let in.
-
Trog knocked on the door with his lunchbox sized fist. A security camera swiveled around from the ceiling near the door and an intercom blared, ["We're closed!" Then, it swiveled around to Siren. After a long pause, the voice on the intercom continued, "Who are you?" in much politer tone.
-
Siren repeated herself, speaking into the intercom. "My name's Alicia Redford. I need to speak with some one from management. Can me and my companions please come inside?" She indicated Trog and Lash, peering up into the security camera. She really hated talking through an intercom. This would really go a lot better face-to-face...
-
After a short pause, "Ms. Redford! Of course! Come right in!" the door's maglock clicked loudly and Trog made his way in with Siren and Lash in tow.
The bar has two trolls in matching uniforms with drinks at the bar, and a short ork walks in from a back office spreading his arms wide open welcoming the three. "Ms.Redford! So nice to see a local celebrity here! What can we do for you? If you're looking for a gig we can fit you in sometime after two weeks from now..." The ork, presumably the manager, drones on about trying to get Siren to perform at his club. Another short human employee appears from a hallway that surely leads to the public restrooms, carrying cleaning supplies. Another human walks out from the office the ork had emerged from with a backpack and takes a seat next to the trolls.
Everyone seems calm, especially the trolls, who despite having people in the club after hours, show a body language and air of respect towards Trog who seems to share the same profession of security as they do. No one seems to recognize Siren except for the manager. The manager, so caught up in his sales pitch, doesn't recognize Lash's act.
-
"Beautiful," Siren thought to herself as the door swung open. She was relatively new to the whole fame thing, and there was something very validating about her name literally opening doors for her. She broke out her most saccharine smile as the manager emerged from his office, quite pleased to see the unctuous little ork wasted no time getting down to business. She waited for a polite lull in his spiel to interrupt.
"Play The Skeleton? I'm flattered you've even heard of me. I'd consider it an honor to play in your club, sir, but that's not quite what I came here to discuss today. You see... my friend here," she wiggled a pinky in the distraught-looking Lash's direction, "is in a rather delicate situation, and I think you might be able to help us out." She glanced down the hallway at the cleaner, then over at the trolls at the bar. "Is there some place we can talk in private? Maybe in your office?"
Let's call that a Negotiation to move the talks into the office. If necessary, I'll do an Etiquette to avoid offending/arousing suspicion from the security trolls.
Negotation + Fame (2) = (19d6.hits(5)=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3962551/)
Etiquette + Fame (2) = (16d6.hits(5)=9) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3962554/)
So... yeah. FACE MODE ACTIVATE
-
::Concrete::
After the others went inside, Concrete turned to Lord, still using the comm. Could you check if you can hack the door open? It'd save us a lot of time if i didn't have to charge it more than once if something goes south inside. With a snicker, he added It also doesn't look so cool.
Then he turned to the alleyway and threw his cigarette in a drain. "Well then, let's see..." Yesterday, the girl activated the comm. Massimo said somethin' about a panic call, so assume she noticed somethin' off. There might've been a struggle, she might've teared down somethin' small. Maybe behind those dumpsters? Concrete started to check the alleyway methodically for any clues while his thougths went their own way. He even tried to use his enhanced smell, against his better judgement. This place must see some traffic and restrooms are usually crowded.
Perception: INT(4) + Perception(3) + Qualities(4) + Warez(6) + looking(3) (20d6.hits(5)=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3962619/)
-
Lash follows closely after Siren, and stays silent for now. She ran various scenarios through her head of possible outcomes, both good and bad. She was waiting for the perfect time to start talking, preferably away from the security.
-
Trog silently nods to the two Trolls at the bar, returning the respect they seem to be showing him. His attention then turns to the two humans, scanning them for possible weapons. The backpack makes Trog slightly suspicious, but they hadn't given the staff a reason to be hostile, so he simply kept moving his attention between the cleaner, the Ork, and the three at the bar.
He then sent a message to Concrete, Looks like you might be right Omae. Two Trolls as security guards, so maybe, just maybe, this place isn't racist. If we need you, there's two Trolls as security, a Human cleaner, another Human, and the owner is an Ork, just so you aren't coming in blind. Trog then continued to scan those in the room.
-
"Cash is locked up, boss." says the human with the bag at the bar.
"Sure thing,"starts the ork. "come this way." The ork leads the way towards the office he originally walked out of. "Your big friend can wait out here with the boys." He holds the door open for the ladies.
Outside, Concrete notices a few cigarette butts labeled "Pianissimo Peche" on the ground. A hobo is sleeping by a dumpster. He makes Concrete regret using his olfactory booster. There doesn't seem to be any blood or obvious signs of a struggle.
-
:: Concrete ::
Concrete wrinkled his nose in disgust then turned down the sensitivity of his nose implant. He also lighted another cigarette and inhaled the smoke deeply. The name on the cigarette butts sounded like another bar, or something like that. While wondering about this, Concrete sent its picture to Lord with the message <<Scan this, found a few of these, someone might've been waiting for some time here. Can you dig up anything on it?>>
Bars and clubs: INT(4) + Bars and Clubs: Seattle(5) + Mnemonic Enhancer(1) (10d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3963812/)
After the smoke of the cigarette washed the bulk of the invasive smells from his nostrils, Concrete turned to the hobo, moving him somewhat with his toe-caps. "Hoi, wake up, chummer." He waited until the man's eyes started to clear. "Have some questions for you."
-
Siren followed the manager into the back office, finding Trog's gaze on the way in. Hang out here. Keep the others outside updated. We'll shout if we need you... find out what you can from the bouncers.
Siren stepped into the back office, offering a chair to the "distraught" Lash. As the manager closed the door, she said, "Thank you, Mr..."
After the manager supplied his name, Siren began. "My friend here helps out with Cutpurse sometimes. Last night, though, she was here for the Nabo show. She had... sort of a rough night." Siren shot Lash a sympathetic look, taking a moment to pat her on the shoulder. She wanted to leave the details vague, just in case the manager had already reviewed the security tapes for some reason.
"And then this morning," Siren continued, her brow creased with seemingly-genuine concern and worry. "I started getting these weird, threatening messages to my commlink." Siren bit her lower lip before continuing. "Somebody is trying to blackmail us. We've already contacted the authorities, but... my friend here is worried about your security tapes. You know how it is... if something gets on a public node on the Matrix, it gets copied and passed around forever."
Siren reached into her peacoat, pulling a few credsticks out of the envelope. "I know it's asking a lot, but we were hoping we could purchase the original tapes from you. It'd really help put our minds at ease."
Going to roll Negotiation and Con. I'm pretty sure this is a Con roll (since we're trying to get the tapes under very false pretenses), but I could also see a Negotiation roll being relevant very shortly, so I'll roll both now.
Con + Fame (2) = (19d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3963949/)
Blah! Not good enough. Spending a point of Edge to re-roll failures.
Re-rolling 15 non-hits = (15d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3963954/)
Total of 10 hits, that's more like it. Going ahead with the Negotiation roll...
Negotiation + Fame (2) = (19d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3963955/)
Yikes...
-
::Lord::
Waking himself from the stakeout fugue. Lord set about mapping out the nodes public and not that the club contained.
Scan for hidden nodes (10d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3964149/)
-
Trog nodded to Siren and Lash. I'll keep them up to date. Watch yourself in there. Trog then walked over to the Trolls at the bar and took a seat near the Trolls on their side that the door is on. "You fellas got some time to answer a couple of questions? It would help a lot."
-
Concrete fails to recall any club with the name on the cigarettes. After he sent Lord the images of the cigarette butts, he tried questioning the hobo. Obviously a beetle addict, his incoherent ramblings yielded nothing intelligible more than the mention of evil unicorns along with copious amounts of slurring and drooling before passing out.
Meanwhile, inside, the ork listens intently to Siren's story. After she finishes, the ork lets out a huge sigh. "Sweetie, the originaltapes is a tall order... if anything else happened last night, even if it had nothing to do with your friend, we could be legally liable." he looked over the credsticks. "Tell you what, 200 nuyen for a copy, 500 for the originals." and he sat back in his chair to await a reply.
Lord's scan found two nodes of note, The Skeleton's public and employee nodes.
The trolls at the bar nodded to Trog, seeming cooperative.
-
Trog nodded quickly. "I'll be honest... Beyond being Miss Redford's bodyguard, I was hired to find another girl too. I was told her name is Maria, she's the daughter of a local, well let's just say an independent businessman that I don't want to report a failure to, and that one of the guards that night might have recognized her. Do you have any idea which one that might be, or maybe who I should look for while we search the tapes for Miss Redmond's friend?"
Not sure what kind of check this calls for, but I'll do Negotiation and Con and you can use whichever you feel applies more, or both if you want. *Crosses fingers* here's hopin!
Con 0 + CHA 2 - Default 1 (1d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3967178/)
Negotiation 0 + CHA 2 - Defualt 1 (1d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3967180/)
Hah! (Yeah, still not good. But I got something! lmao)
-
::Concrete::
Concrete shook his head in disgust as he tried to get something useful from the hobo. Fraggin chiphead. With that thought he turned away from the man obviously still under the effect of beetle. There was still something to check: the dumpsters. Turning his nose off for this, he opened the containers one-by-one and looked into them, even moving the bigger pieces and the bags in the upper layer. The Don's men must've checked but it doesn't hurt to be sure.
Checking the dumpsters: INT(4) + Perception(3) + Qualities(4) + Warez(6) + looking(3) - probably distracted a bit by now(2) (18d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3967209/)
-
Siren pretended to be upset about being denied the original tapes, but really all they needed was a copy. After looking to Lash for her approval, she dug out a 200-nuyen credstick and tossed it over at the manager. "Tell you what, we'll start with the copies. Hopefully we won't need the original."
Then, as an afterthought she added, "And don't call me 'sweetie.' Alicia will do fine, yeah? If you're still interested in having me do a show next week, I'm all ears. As far as I'm concerned, I owe you a favor for the tapes. What day of the week would be good for you? I'm flexible... I can't negotiate on behalf of the boys, but you could get me for a solo performance or I could try and talk the rest of the band into it, shouldn't be hard, The Skeleton's a wiz venue, after all..." She tried to keep the manager talking and distracted, giving her compatriots inside and outside the bar time to do whatever they saw fit.
Doing a fast talk con to keep him distracted and hopefully keep him from noticing that accepting the copies without complaint doesn't really fix the whole "blackmail" angle...
Con + 2 (Fame) = (19d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3967230/)
-
One troll rolled his eyes to the other. His counterpart snorted, Wish we could help, chummer, but so many girls come in and out that we wouldn't have any idea who exactly you're referring to. Maybe a pic would joggle our memory?
Concrete's search of the dumpsters yielded Maria's purse! Unfortunately, nothing of note outside of identifying markers that it was hers were present. At least now he could be sure that Maria was nabbed in THIS alley.
Inside the club, the ork seemed all too happy to continue talking business and try to close the deal with Siren while he made the copies and transmitted them to her PAN.
-
::Concrete::
He almost gave up when he finally found Maria's purse, under a freshly dumped plastic bag. At least something. Not too much though. He was worried he had to try and break into the other alley. Putting the purse away, he hoped that the others inside were more lucky. He'd have liked to check where the alley went but that would have put him too far from the door, in case there was trouble. He strolled back to Lord, taking another cigarette to light, and told him about the "world-shaking" finding. "Finally, i can turn my nose back on."
-
Siren pretended to be upset about being denied the original tapes, but really all they needed was a copy. After looking to Lash for her approval, she dug out a 200-nuyen credstick and tossed it over at the manager. "Tell you what, we'll start with the copies. Hopefully we won't need the original."
Then, as an afterthought she added, "And don't call me 'sweetie.' Alicia will do fine, yeah? If you're still interested in having me do a show next week, I'm all ears. As far as I'm concerned, I owe you a favor for the tapes. What day of the week would be good for you? I'm flexible... I can't negotiate on behalf of the boys, but you could get me for a solo performance or I could try and talk the rest of the band into it, shouldn't be hard, The Skeleton's a wiz venue, after all..." She tried to keep the manager talking and distracted, giving her compatriots inside and outside the bar to do whatever they saw fit.
Doing a fast talk con to keep him distracted and hopefully keep him from noticing that accepting the copies without complaint doesn't really fix the whole "blackmail" angle...
Con + 2 (Fame) = (19d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3967230/)
Its better than nothing, maybe my blackmailer is bluffing, and this can prove it. She turned to the ork, Thank you for your time, I appreciate it
-
Trog showed them the photo of Maria that he had gotten from Massimo. "Does she look familiar at all? Maybe you've seen a particular guard pay special attention to her?"
-
"Yes! That hot piece of tail!" started one of the trolls. "That bastard, Sleazy Eddie made off with her last night. That dreck head has been on a hot streak lately. Really reelin' em in."
The human with the backpack jumps in, "I know where he lives. 100 nuyen and his address is yours."
"Geeze, Alex, you sure sold out your buddy quick there!" jabs one of the bouncers.
"Screw that guy, he hasn't tipped in over a month. I'm about to tip out..."
Meanwhile, Siren's download of the security tapes completes. She plays it back in her AR while trying to maintain as much of an illusion of interest in what the ork is saying as possible. She scans the video of the alley beginning at around the time Ashley had said she noticed Maria missing, 2am. The images show a dark purple van parked in the alley. Eventually, Maria and a man stumble into the alley, laughing. They make their way down until they are close enough to the van that the door slides open and another person leaps out to grab her. Maria struggles as the two men, now working in unison, work to get her into the van. Eventually, they succeed. The van speeds off and the man who brought Maria in continues walking alone down the alley, stopping only to toss something into the dumpster and kick a hobo before leaving from the opposite end.
-
Trog nodded and said, "Deal." He transferred 100 nuyen to the human. "Pass it to me in an AR message, easier to keep track of." Then thinking about it, he added, "And I'll come back after and give you each another hundred if you don't tell him I'm coming."
Meanwhile, he sent a message to the group, Got a name from the men at the bar. Ready to leave when you are Siren. Lord, any chance you can look up info on "Sleazy Eddie", see if there's anything about him?
-
::Lord::
@Trog
Context? You got anymore details than just a nickname? Cause "Sleazy Eddie" is one broad search term.
-
As soon as she received the footage and reviewed it, she immediately forwarded it to the rest of the team with the added message, This is starting to look pretty darn pre-meditated. We have to find this girl, quick.
When she got the message from Trog, she started to wrap up her dealings with the manager. "Okay, sounds like we're pretty decided on some time a week after next. Tell you what, I'll go talk it over with the rest of the band, meanwhile you can get back to me and let me know what day of the week works best for you." She forwarded her commcode to the manager and flashed him a smile. Hey, the mob might break her kneecaps in a few days, but at least she'd be playing The Skeleton in her shiny new wheelchair.
-
The bartender shoots over Eddie's address and takes Trog's money. The address is to an apartment building in Redmond's Holiwood district, not far off, apartment 401.
-
::Concrete::
While waiting for the others to finish in Skeleton, Concrete quickly checked the security footage. He paused the images a few times, trying to get a better glimpse of the faces of the two men, to be able to notice them if there was need.
I've seen a trid flick with a similar gig as this one he told the others on the comm. There's this charming young guy buying a girl drinks in a bar, not even trying to make her drunk. Then in the right moment, he slips some chem into the girl's drink. They leave soon after 'cause she feels the need for some air. The chem kicks in. The girl wakes hours later, sold to a brothel. Concrete snorted. Then of course the cavalry comes, the dashing super-detectives come to the rescue. He paused then went on. In reality, the brothel is the fortunate case. She could've ended up in a chop shop. Organlegging is a gruesome and demanding business.
Of course, i think this won't be the latter. And i agree this was pre-meditated but i'm still sure it was a random grab, not specifically targeting her. The voice over the comm became somber. But if it was pre-meditated this gig must have serious backing. The grabbers might simply be middlemen working alone but they must be delivering for some organized group, be it either a syndicate or Tamanous.
-
::Lash::
Messages the team <<So what all information do we have now? I think we should start seeing if we can piece what we do have together to see the whole picture, or at least see what is missing from the picture>>
-
::Concrete::
We know that Sleazy Eddie took Maria out of Skeleton, helped the men in the purple van grab her, the he and the van went different ways. We know Eddie's address. What we don't know: who the men in the purple van were, where they brought her, and why. I say we pay a visit to Eddie and ask him a few questions.
-
Trog waited for Siren and Lash to come out of the room, and then followed them out of the club while sending the address to the party. Apartment 401 in Redmond's Holliwood district. Maybe we should give him a taste of his own medicine? Maybe Masimo would be willing to give s a van?
-
Siren smiled sweetly to the manager and then the security trolls as she headed out. Secretly, though, she was burning with indignation. If anybody deserved to be knocked around by Trog, it was definitely a guy who called himself "Sleazy" and made his nuyen preying on innocent girls. Don't know if we'll need to bother with a van, she sent to Trog, making sure to patch the rest of the group through. Pretty sure you and Concrete are scary enough on your lonesome. And trust me, boys, that is very much a compliment. We'll take my car out, see what security is like at his apartment, and take it from there. She stepped out of The Skeleton and into the gray morning light to meet up with Concrete and Lord.
-
::Lasciel::
Lasciel followed Siren, <<I say we set our Orc and Troll loose on the scum and beat the truth out of him, and then go get Ashley.>>.
-
"Love it," Siren grumbled aloud to Lash as she stalked over to her car. "Love everything about it." And then, via the Matrxi, All aboard who's coming aboard. Trog? Concrete? I'm not usually like this, but I would really quite like to see you stomp some throats right about now. Let's find this girl.
-
The time is: 10:52am
The team arrives in their respective vehicles at the address the bartender provided Trog, parking a block down from the complex so as to decide what their next move should be.
The "complex" is really a run down building with a main double door front and center, and another inconspicuous door around the back for convenience. There are fire escapes scattered along the back of the building into the alley that lead from the apartments.
Everything looks like it's rotting and there is trash everywhere around the street. At this time in the morning, there isn't much activity going on in this type of neighborhood. The overcast sky shines a cool grey monotone shade on everything.
-
::Concrete::
Here's my guess: Eddie's sleeping up there after a good night's work he told the others on the comm. Security doesn't seem upscale here so probably just a few gangers to worry about. Anyone has maglock opener... or should i say a lockpick? Think we could surprise the slimeball.
Concrete spared a few thoughts for the area: checking for gang signs and what he knew about police security rating.
Gangs:INT(4) + Gangs(2) + Mnemonic Enhancer(1) (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3979304/)
Area knowledge for security rating: INT(4) + Seattle Area Knowledge(2) + Mnemonic Enhancer(1) (7d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3979307/)
By the way this will be simple as i see it. Two or three people go up, one watches the front door and the other the back door and the fire escapes, in case the slimeball proves to be too slimy. If you accept i can go up with someone knowing locks better than me and Trog could watch the back because he is fastest of us and can easily catch Eddie if he runs. We shouldn't use guns if we can avoid. Think there won't be a problem with a broken door thogh if it comes to that.
-
"Instead of just staying out back, if we can find what exit his room is part of, we could have someone sneakier than me come up the fire escape and just block him off. And if it's just an old time lock, I could probably get us through in an equally surprising way." Trog then laughed quietly.
That bartender best not be stringing me along. If he is, it'll be him I ambush in an apartment.
-
::Lasciel::
Lasciel closed her eyes, opening them back up to the astral world. She looked at the building for astral barriers, wards, and spirits. And attempted to assense anything magical about the place.
Assensing Test of the apartment (4d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3979416/) - Assensing 1 + Log 3: Assensing, barriers should be obvious though
She closed her eyes, switching her sight back to the mundane world and opened them again. I'll follow the muscle in. Once we have what we want, if he's worth allowing to live, I'll alter his memories a bit to make him think he pissed off a gang and got jumped.
-
Siren pulled her car up to the rat nest that served as Sleazy Eddie's apartment. After the others piled out, she got out and slammed the door behind her. "I'll keep an eye on the front door. If I see him try to slip out, I can distract him and keep him talking while the rest of you guys catch up." She stuck her hand into the pocket of peacoat, testing to make sure her taser was still firmly in place in case she needed it.
-
::Concrete::
The ork turned to Lash, amazement on his face. “You can do that? Nice, prob’ly more effective than me telling him not to report to his bosses what happened here. Still I don’t believe he would. They prob’ly wouldn’t take to the news well.” With a smile showing teeth and tusks he added. “And I want him to remember I might come back for him if he goes on with this gig.”
To Trog he answered “Sorry but I don’t think those rusty pieces of drek would hold even my weight. And you’re right, breaking the door should be easy but on the off chance he isn’t sleeping I don’t want to give him those few seconds to bolt for escape. And more important, I don’t want to alert the neighbors unnecessarily.”
-
::Concrete::
The ork turned to Lash, amazement on his face. “You can do that? Nice, prob’ly more effective than me telling him not to report to his bosses what happened here. Still I don’t believe he would. They prob’ly wouldn’t take to the news well.” With a smile showing teeth and tusks he added. “And I want him to remember I might come back for him if he goes on with this gig.”
To Trog he answered “Sorry but I don’t think those rusty pieces of drek would hold even my weight. And you’re right, breaking the door should be easy but on the off chance he isn’t sleeping I don’t want to give him those few seconds to bolt for escape. And more important, I don’t want to alert the neighbors unnecessarily.”
Very well, then I'll stay out with Siren, and cover his escapes. I think you will be able to handle anything on the inside. She looked at the fire escapes, do we know which one is his? If it looks like he's going to run for it I'll toss up a barrier on his window.
-
::Concrete::
"So, then, is the following OK? Trog, Lord and me go up. If it is an electromagnetic lock, Lord can take care of it. If it is mechanic, i can try to fiddle with it. If it comes to that we can easily break the door." He turned to Lasciel. "When we get to 401 i will try to relay our relative position to you, so that you can put that barrier up."
The ork looked at the others expectantly. Siren and Lash were easily able to tell he felt a little out of place while trying to put all the roles together. He tried anyway. Time is tickin' away. We shouldn't linger.
-
Trog grunted his approval. "Sounds good to me. I'm sure we'll be able to find a way to let Lash know which room is his. Wonder how quickly he'll 'cooperate'. We'll send you two a message when we find out if he's in his room or not."
-
Trog grunted his approval. "Sounds good to me. I'm sure we'll be able to find a way to let Lash know which room is his. Wonder how quickly he'll 'cooperate'. We'll send you two a message when we find out if he's in his room or not."
<<sounds good, let me know when you bust in, and I'll put a physical barrier on his window, It'll probably keep him in unless he shoots it, but hopefully he will be too terrified of you guys to think about shooting it out>> She began circling around the building to get a look at all of the fire escapes.
-
Siren dipped her head in assent, leaning against her car. "Sounds like a plan to me. Be careful up there, guys."
-
::Concrete::
Concrete smiled at Siren’s remark. “He be careful” he said while fumbling for a smoke. With a disappointed frown he crumpled the empty pack and took a fresh one from another pocket. This better be over quickly. After lighting the cigarette, he drew in a long, deep breath, kept it in, then exhaled with a grunt. And in the process he somehow became… menacing. “Shall we?” he growled and started for the entrance of the building, with an expression that told everyone they wouldn’t like to get in his way.
-
Trog and Concrete walk in through the front door of the lobby which is, not surprisingly, unlocked. They find a long and wide lobby with apartment doors on each side and an unmarked door to the back, presumably leading to the stairs with access to the higher levels.
They're welcomed by two human gangers who were sitting around in mismatched lounge chairs saying, "WASSUP, FRAGFACE? Ya'll don't look like you live here? You movin' in? Hope you're ready to pay 'second rent'!"
-
(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25554995/lobby.jpg)
-
::Concrete::
Concrete immediately became even more alert than before. He checked the gangers for any weapons and tried to gouge their intentions. He then growled, not letting up on his “you-don’t-want-to-do-this” stare “Zip it, omae, I’m not in the mood. You can have a snuff each while we take care of our biz inside.” The carrot and the stick work best together, he thought. “Or you can have a bullet each. Choose. I don’t care either way.”
Perception to check the gangers: INT(4) + Perception(3) + Qualities(4) + Warez(6) + looking (3) (20d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3994078/)
Judging what they want: INT(4) + Negotiation: Sense Motive(3) + Empathy software(3) (10d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3994080/)
Negotiation: CHA(3) + Negotiation:(1) + Empathy software(3) (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3994082/)
Intimidation: BOD(8 ) + Intimidation: Physical(5) + Empathy software(3) (16d6.hits(5)=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3994085/) (notes: BOD comes from Panzer PQ, and assumed that positive modifiers are at least negated by negatives)
-
"YO! WE GOT COMPANY!" yells one of the gangers. In two seconds, three more humans run out through one of the apartments and are squaring off against Concrete and Trog. It seemed that Concrete's attempt at intimidation may have worked only into scaring the ganger into calling for help.
"Like I said, chummer, this is our buildin' and any business is our business..." The ganger seems confident in the stacked numbers against the runners.
-
Concrete looks over the gangers, and with his knowledge, experience, and intuition, notices that the two gangers with shirts on seem to be unarmed, the two gangers with vests are holding some sort of small hidden blade in their hands (and they aren't fooling him), and the last last one with a heavy jacket standing furthest to towards the back is the likeliest to be packing a firearm.
First two rolls for gangers with shirts, second two for gangers with vests, last roll for ganger with jacket. (6d6.hits(5)=1, 6d6.hits(5)=1, 6d6.hits(5)=3, 6d6.hits(5)=2, 6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4001554/)
Shirt 1 = 6 + 1 = 7
Shirt 2 = 6 + 1 = 7
Vest 1 = 6 + 3 = 9
Vest 2 = 6 + 2 = 8
Jacket = 6 +1 = 7
Trog prepares himself...
Rolling an initiative roll on behalf of Trog, hoping he'll be able to join us tomorrow. (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4001562/)
Initiative Score = 7+2= 9
I'll follow your lead, omae... he mentally shoots to Concrete over text.
-
"Oi, you sure you wanna dance fraggers? Guess I'll lead then." Trog then moved up to the closest ganger and took a swing at him with his meaty fist.
AGI 6 + Unarmed 6 = 12 (12d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4004909/) And a big ol' whiff on my part! At least it wasn't a glich :D
-
Concrete's hands became a blur as he drew his taser from its holster, took aim, then shot the clearer target of the two with the vests on.
Free Action: draw taser (no roll needed because Bodyguard PQ)
Simple Action: take aim for +1 die
Simple Action: single shot - AGI(6) + Pistols(4) + Smartlink(2) + Aim(1) (13d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005555/); damage 8 Stun (electricity) + net hits, half impact armor
-
Lash sends a message to the team <<anyone have a status report?>>
-
Trog swings at one of the vested thugs, his huge fist crashing...
Dodge 3 + REA 3 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=1) Thug dodges! (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006585/)
and breaking nothing but wind.
Without hesitation, Concrete pulls the trigger on his taser...
REA to oppose Concrete's shot (3d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006514/)
+1 Net Hits = successful shot?
WIL 3 + BOD 4 = 7 (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006538/) = target is INCAPACITATED for 3 (2 + 1(from net hits above)) turns!
7S dmg sustained!
Concrete's taser finds home, square on the other vested thug's throat. The thug has just enough time to roll his eyes back into their sockets and shake violently three times before falling to the ground, detatched from the rest of the world.
Capitalizing on the troll's missed swing, the second vested thug side stepped the potentially devastating punch and returned with an overhand stab downwards towards Trog's shoulder.
Blades 3 + AGI 3 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006569/) = 1 hit
The first ganger that was originally seated in the lobby with his filthy grease stained black shirt charged towards Concrete, launching a haymaker swing towards Concrete's head...
Unarmed 3 + AGI 3 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006574/) CRITICAL GLITCH
...only to slip and begin to stumble on his way in towards the ork!
The second shirted thug slides up alongside the ganger trying to knife Trog and launches a front stomp kick towards the flailing runner in the police armor...
Unarmed 3 + REA 3 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006592/) = 2 hits
The man with the jacket near the back of the lobby reaches into his jacket, taking out an old revolver. He looks around at the situation, but decides that firing his weapon right now might attract too much unwanted attention.
-
Trog attempted to block the incoming blows.
Vs knife ganger: REA 7 + Unarmed 6 = (13d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006620/) Forgot to apply reach to this one, but got 2 net hits on him anyway.
Vs Unarmed ganger: Block: REA 7 + Unarmed 6 + Reach 1 = (14d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4006627/)
"Looks like we'll all need to do a little better... except my friend over there." Trog then grinned at the gangers that were still standing. He then sent a verbal message through his comm, "5 gangers front lobby."
He then then took a swing at the man wielding the knife.
AGI 6 + Unarmed 6 + Reach 1 = (13d6.hits(5)=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4007149/)
DV:11S+net hits if it connects, with AP -2
-
It was a golden opportunity. Concrete took two quick steps forward, next to the stumbling ganger, and put the taser on the nape of his neck. While pulling the trigger he turned to the one standing there with the gun. “Drop it if you don’t want to end like this!” His eyes promised nothing but the worst should the ganger not comply.
No action: moving forward (walking)
Free action: calling a shot for increased damage (-3 dice, +3 damage)
Simple action: shooting the stumbling ganger AGI(6) + Pistols(4) + Smartlink(2) – Called shot(3) + Point blank range (2) (11d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4007330/); damage 11S(e) + 5 net hits, half impact armor
Simple action: trying to intimidate the other ganger BOD(8 ) + Intimidation: Physical(5) + Empathy software(3) (16d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4007332/)
(note: I don’t know if a simple action is enough for this but I thought the execution-style shot gave a good basis for it)
-
Trog's opponent missed his mark, his blade swishing past the troll's shoulder. He brought his arms and hands back in and up across his upper body and face to block his enemy's follow up punch...
REA 3 + Unarmed 3 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4008040/) +7 net hits for Trog!
(STR 7 / 2) + Boxing 2 + 7 net hits = 13S
BOD 4 + Armor 0 = 4 (4d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4008066/)
10Sdelivered! KO'ed!
... which might have worked against someone his size, but under the freight train of meat and bone that was hurtling towards his face, his forearms buckled as the fist crashed them into his own head, falling back with only slightly less force than was thrown at him, from the troll. The back of his head crashed into the floor as he slid a meter backwards across the grime.
The last standing shirted man, seeing his chances for survival cut down, began to back pedal towards the back of the lobby. He shouted over his shoulder, "What the fuck are you waiting for!? SHOOT THEM!"
The armed man considers Concrete's offer...
WIL 3 + Intimidation 4 + Is Wielding a Weapon 2 + Backing down is harmful to NPC's reputation 2 - Concrete's Back Up is an armored tank in the shape of a Troll whom he's bound to cause limited damage to, even with a revolver 3 = 8 (8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4008110/)
If he had a gun he'd have used it by now...
Without another thought, the man raises his pistol towards Trog, takes aim, and fires...
4 AGI + 4 firearms + 1 take aim = 9 (9d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4008134/)
-
Forgot to include the DV of the weapon, sorry! It's a
RUGER BLOODHAWK: 5P, AP -1
-
Trog did his best to avoid the shot, but his momentum from dodging other blows kept him from success.
REA 7 - already defended this round 2 = (5d6.hits(5) = 1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4014056/) result: bad guy gets 3 net hits.
His armor made up for his own stumble however. Armor 21 + Body 9 - AP 1 = (29d6.hits(5) = 13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4014073/)
Trog then looked between the man with the gun and the one who told him to fire. He grinned and said "Weren't you ever told not to play with guns?" He then charged the man with a gun, throwing an uppercut as he reached the ganger.
AGI 6 + Unarmed 6 + Reach 1 + Chasing 2 = (15d6.hits(5) = 4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4014094/)
-
Siren shivered when she received Concrete's message about the gangers, but held her post. Concrete and Trog seemed much better equipped to handle a fight than her... which, granted, wasn't a very high bar to clear, but still. Reaching into her pocket for her taser more for security than anything else, Siren sent a quick voice message to Trog and Concrete's commlinks. Let us know if you need backup, boys.
-
The beast charging at him, the armed man decided he wasn't going to make the same mistake as his counter part did by standing his ground. He waited until the last possible moment to sidestep the breathing rampage...
11S[/b]dealt!
BOD 5 + Impact 1 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4015746/) 3Sresisted!
... and side stepped a half second too late, miss judging Trog's last gait. The man's is smashed back into the rest of his skull, effectively resetting his brain as legs go limp, dropping his body to the floor. He begins to convulse on the floor and spit a white foam from his mouth.
The last man standing sees his chances of winning drop to nil and abandons his comrades, running out the back door and into what the runners can see as a tightly packed stairwell before smashing out of a second back door into the alleyway, gasping a slight, "Drek..." when he saw Lash, and then turning to run to his right down the alley.
-
"Oh no you don't," she says as she sees the man running away and casts levitate on him to keep him from getting away.
Cast Levitate (6 Spellcasting + 6 Magic) (12d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4017617/)
Using Edge to reroll misses
(Edge) rerolling misses (10d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4017618/)
Drain (F/2)+1 (6/2)+1 = 4; Will + Cha + 2 for limited spell (14d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4017619/)
2 stun damage, my rolls suck tonight
Levitate for the opposed test
For the opposed test for Levitate, F*2 (12) (12d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4017696/)
If he beats the opposed test will retcon the next part of the post.
"grrr" she growls as her spell barely affected the man,
-
Lash reached out across the astral to grab the fleeing thug...
BOD 4 + STR 4 = 8 (8d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4018965/)
...however, she misjudged where he was going to be when the levitate spell would take hold and missed his heels by inches. Turns out that having an armored troll chasing him after he turned two of his buddies into spaghetti made the thug tap into his Olympic potential as a track star.
-
Concrete didn't go after the last ganger. He knew Lash was there behind the building so he started for the stairs immediately. The gunshot might've warned Eddie that something wasn't right so he wanted to give the least possible time for him to prepare. The ork assumed that the apartment would be on the 4th story but he checked each story anyway - he didn't want to miss their target.
-
Trog followed Concrete up the stairs. "You know... I was never very good at counting unless it involved money or bullets. I bet you're quite surprised to hear it! The sarcasm in his voice obvious.
-
The time is: 10:57am
After working their way up the stairs, Concrete and Trog reach the 4th floor and see a door labeled 401 near the stairwell.
Down below, Lash's prey had slipped through her fingers and ran down the alley, turning down into another alley and disappearing.
-
::Lash::
She sends a message to the team, <<Had a runner come out the back, he got away sorry, hows it going in there Trog/Crete?>>
-
::Concrete::
>>We're @ 401. Don't worry about ganger, doesn't matter, just tell us if he returns w/ more.<< While sending the message to the team the ork checked the door by gently pulling and pushing it to gouge if it could be broken down. He also checked what type the lock was, electronic or mechanical.
-
Trog sent a written message through his comm to the party, >>Like Concrete said, don't worry about it unless they come back with more.<< He then sent a message just to Concrete, >>You got a more peaceful way through the door? I don't have a clue about electronic locks, and I don't have a picker with me. Maybe we should just knock?<<
-
The door is hardly in disrepair. A solid wooden door on standard, if aging and slightly rotting hinges separate the runners from the inside of apartment 401. The door has a standard mechanical lock with a physical key used to open it.
The hallway is empty and poorly lit with most of the lighting gone out and not maintained. You hear flies buzzing about what seems to be a pile of garbage on the far side of the hallway.
-
Trog took a short sniff and then decided it best to hold his breath. >>Ihope his apartment is cleaner than out here, this is awful.<<
-
::Concrete::
"Hmm, i also dont have a picker." The ork checked the door again and turned to Trog. "On three?"
-
Trog took out his pistol and aimed it at the door and then nodded. "On three, we kick. One... two... three!" Trog then put his force into kicking the door down.
IC seems to be down... http://rolz.org/myroomlog?r=Bunraku here is my roll for attempting to break the door down. Ends in a 10DV kick to the door which it resists with it's armor rating x2
-
Concrete also changed his taser for the pistol. When the count reached three, while Trog kicked the door at the lock side, Concrete put his body's weight to work at the hinges.
(http://rolz.org/embed?3539429) (http://rolz.org/info?3539429)
Note: rolled BOD(8 ) + STR(7) based on example in SR4A p.63, opposed test. Please tell me if you want me to take a different test.
-
The door is launched through the threshold and into the apartment, landing on a small table. A man, obviously the one seen escorting Maria out of the club last night, walks out of a back room with a puzzled look on his face, more annoyed than worried. Despite the filter mask he's wearing over his mouth, there's no doubt that it's him.
"Who the hell are you?" he asks.
He stands there with his slick backed black hair, head cocked to one side. He's wearing a grey tanktop and pajama pants. The man is skinny and has a couple of tattoos straight out of the first page of any tattoo parlor's example book. Nothing looks out of place in the living room where you have entered through.
Lord breaks into comms, Just picked up a radio call on shots fired in the area. No address was mentioned so you may have some time but don't take all day up there chaps.
-
Assuming Lord's message was sent to her as well, Siren, jammed out a quick text to her team: I'll stall any cops or curious onlookers, but yeah, keep it fast and quiet guys. She couldn't help but feel some guilt at sending Trog and Concrete into danger like this, but heck, that seemed to be their speciality. Siren was confident the boys could handle themselves, at least until they presented evidence otherwise.
-
Concrete sent a message to Trog. "Lean the door back to the frame." Then he started to talk to the man in front.
"You snatched the worst possible person yesterday, Eddie. You are to tell us who the men in the purple van were and where they brought her. You have exactly five seconds to start to talk." The ork took a small step closer with every sentence, keeping his eyes locked with Eddie's. His voice was a deep grumbling, the promise of violence radiating from it and his stature, as he immediately started to count. "One... Two..."
Intimidation: BOD(8 ) + Intimidation(3) + Empathy soft(3) + modifiers(6)
(modifiers i used: suspicious -1 (he didn't seem hostile yet), we're imposing +3, we outnumber him +2, we're both armed +2; please just take dice away from the end of the roll if you feel some of them are not warranted)
(http://rolz.org/embed?3546232) (http://rolz.org/info?3546232)
hell, this is pathetic, reroll with Edge
(http://rolz.org/embed?3546238) (http://rolz.org/info?3546238)
total of 10 successes
-
Trog set about propping the door back up. "You should probably answer him omae." After that he moved towards the windows to block Eddie from an escape.
-
Concrete's tone wasn't lost on Eddie. The man, though thoroughly intimidated, tried to cover it up...
Con 7 + CHR 6 - 1 Suspcious = 12 dice, 2 hits
"Ah, hah? And who are you? Her pimp? Tell your dog to be careful with my door..."
Edit: Brought down the amount of hits from 3 to 2 to figure in for Concrete's successful intimidation.
-
::Concrete::
Sense motive: INT(4) + Negotiation: Sense Motive(3) + Empathy software(3) + modifiers(2)
(http://rolz.org/embed?3554993) (http://rolz.org/info?3554993)
note: used Ace in the hole modifier, because we have security footage
“I’m the man with the gun, Eddie. And though I don’t get paid to shoot you I might just do it for pleasure if you waste more of my time.” The ork’s smile was more like a grimace, showing teeth and tusks. “So I ask you again: who were the men in the purple van and where did they take the girl?”
-
"Alright, alright, cool it omae..." says Eddie as he puts both his hands up, trying to convey compliance. He takes his mask off and tosses it on a coffee table.
"Someone is lookin' for sluts for somethin', I dunno, none of my fuckin' business. I talk to pretty girls, lead them outside, someone picks them up, I get paid later. I don't know where the girl from last night is, and that's the truth. Sorry, can't help you there."
-
"I don't think you try enough." Concrete's voice still carried that aggressive tone. "Just tell me everything about how you got into this gig. You could go on with the names and descriptions of people you're working with, like the one in the purple van you've surely seen. How you notify them if you got a new target. How they pay you." The ork glared at the man. "You see, Eddie, there's a lot of things you can help us with, you just have to try harder."
While he listened to the answer he sent a text to the others. >>This will not be fast, i will have to aks every little question as it seems. If you have ideas what we should ask the suggestions are welcome.<<
-
(http://rolz.org/embed?3564584) (http://rolz.org/info?3564584)
Trog leaned against the wall and chuckled, "Nothing eh? Even a troll knows you're lying." Trog then cracked his knuckles and look at Concrete, "Maybe he's telling the truth though? If he doesn't know anything I guess his employer wouldn't mind if we.... played a few rounds of my favorite game."
-
"N-n-n-n-n-no, there's no employer, just one-..."
Drek, already said too much...
Eddie starts backing up against the wall.
"Uggghhh.... alright man, look, I can help you out, if someone went through all the trouble of sending a couple of goons over a little bitch like that, I'm not stupid enough to not realize I made an enemy with someone not worth the trouble..."
They haven't roughed me up yet, maybe I can save my bones...
Eddie relaxed and slouched down unto a couch.
"Before I start blabbin', know that I'm well connected myself. That's not a threatening ya's, just lettin' ya know I can still be worth more to you alive rather than dead, so don't go droppin' my name around like an asshole when you go lookin' for Sleepin' Beauty..."
ok so I found out how to roll inside the room so we have a history at least, still can't find that icon that will provide the BB code to post rolls in here. the first roll I did was figuring stuff out, the next one was this one:
Eddie rolling an Etiquette test to see if he offends Concrete or Trog:
Etiquette 5 + CHR 6 = 11, 3 hits
-
::Concrete::
"You still don't see the picture, do you? Noone's here but you and us. There's no connections, no buddies, just a couple of men armed and starting to lose their patience." Concrete took a deep breath. "If you still think you can have conditions, reconsider." After leaving a few seconds for Eddie to take the message, he continued. Time to let him breathe a bit. "Look, i understand your position. I'm not paid to make your life miserable so i don't intend to do it unless you do it to me. But you're wasting time." Concrete's voice became cold. "Names. Faces. Places. Now."
-
::Trog::
While waiting for Eddie to answer Concrete, Trog sent a text to the rest of the team >> The way is clear guys, we have him taped in his apartment. Not often a stagger like him recognized it was best to sit down in my experience.<<
-
Lash
Sends a message to the team <<Heading in, it doesn't look like our running is coming back, If you want I'll fix his memory so he doesn't narc on us to any of his friends>> She walked in the front door and up to the apartment, and into Eddie's apartment, "why hello handsome," she said with a smile. She turned to Concrete, "so what have we learned?"
-
Why didn't anyone roll the counter to the etiquette test?
These guys misunderstood me. If I'm lucky, I'll tell them exactly what they want to hear and they'll interpret it ass backwards...
"Guy's name is Heizo. He's a chinpira for the local kanagawa-gumi. He contacts me whenever he needs girls, I tell him where I'll be, and I escort them into his care. I don't know where the hell he takes them after that, omae, that's another link in the chain that I know nothing about."
Eddie leans back in his seat and starts to look Lash up and down with all the subtlety of a troll in a china store.
-
Out of the corner of her eye, Siren notices a Lone Star patrol rounding a corner and starting down the street that she's standing lookout on. The vehicle approaches slowly, the beat cop, an old, tired ork, dejectedly looking around at his surroundings. He eventually reaches Siren and puts his cruiser in park.
"You call in that shootin' miss?"
He reaches for his cup of soykaf, takes a sip, and half rests it on his huge belly, not bothering to get out of the car.
-
I didn't roll because Trog wouldn't be offended by what he said, and actually slightly respects him for the way he worded it.
::Trog::
"Well missing links are bad, and so are missing teeth. I wonder how well you'd pick girls up if you were missing some, eh Eddie? Perhaps it's time you found a new girl to 'escort' to Heizo... Or I can finally play my favorite game."
-
"And what happens to the girls?" Lash asked.
She looked at Trog and cracked a smile, then back at Eddie, "I like the way you think Trog, Eddie, my dear dear friend that really doesn't want to piss off my other friends here, you drug the girls, they pick them up. Do you know if they do any more drugging en route to their destination? Of course my friends would like to also know where the girls are being taken. Tell us the truth and I promise you that my friends here won't rough you up."
She sends the team a message <<If this punk doesn't know where exactly the girls are being taken, whats the chances of you guys being able to track me if I let them take me? And when we get the boss's daughter back, I'm going to give him Eddie's personal address, I'm sure he'll be grateful.>>
-
Eddie started talking faster, "No, I swear, I dunno! These Yakuza are a lot of things but stupid ain't one of 'em. You think they're going to risk their entire operation but letting an associate like me know shit that I have nothing to do with? Hezio and I set up a meet about every two weeks and my job is to take the girls to him in his van and I get paid. That's it! Look, I'm not gonna bullshit you with half truths here, I'm tellin' ya what I know! I'm just the bottom feeder of this food chain."
-
Concrete thought about what he knew about the Kanagawa-gumi and what the chinpira rank meant in support and manpower.
Underworld knowledge: INT(4) + Underworld(2) + Mnemonic Enhancer(1) (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4020364/)
When Eddie mentioned making contact every two weeks, he interjected "And how do you make contact with him?" He didn't like the idea of throwing Lash for the sharks but he admired her courage. >>Lord might be able to follow you if you had a tag with you. Of course, not your commlink as it has to be taken away from you when those in the van can see. But let's see first if we have other options.<<
-
Concrete couldn't recall anything of use from Yakuza other than it was a position in the organization and not a title for outsiders like Eddie who carry out work for them.
"He sends a little punk over to relay messages, nothing over matrix, all word of mouth. The little punk'll show up, sometimes he has suggestions from Hezio, sometimes not and it's up to me, and I send him back with where I'm going to be. Let me think for a minute..."
Eddie, sweating now, looks down to the floor in thought.
"I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW!!! I know just as much about those Yakuza as anyone else!"
-
Concrete sent a message to the team. "So... This little drekhead seems to know less than we need or is a very good liar. Anybody has a great idea? 'Cuz the two weeks till the next meet with the kobun will not stretch the Don's patience, it will rip it to shreds within the next 12-24 hours. And i don't want to make an enemy of him. I will make a last round at it. Anyone having an inside yak contact, or police contact able to access records, or anyone that may be able to lead us to Heizo, now is the good time to tell us."
The ork let the man cook in his own sweat for about two or three minutes before speaking up again. "Eddie, you said you are a connected person. Who would you ask if you wanted to contact Heizo? Where would you begin? You have to cut us some slack, man, 'cuz, honestly, it hasn't been much up till now. I know you're trying, but try harder." Concrete was closely watching the reaction of Eddie. The man, though seeming honest, was a con man and those always tried to use facts and half-truths to their advantage.
Sense motive: INT(4) + Negotiation: Sense Motive(3) + Empathy software(3)
(http://rolz.org/embed?3614146) (http://rolz.org/info?3614146)
-
Lord shot a message to the rest of the team:
What do you fancy we bring Massimo up to speed? We can keep him updated along w/ possibly getting some help with those Yakuza fellows...
-
::Concrete::
“If it comes to that, we can ask Massimo about Heizo and his ilk. After we depleted our other options. I don’t like to call the Johnson without real results. But I’m inclined to say I’m completely stuck right now. And it seems the drekhead here is also stuck, judging from him not answering my latest questions.”
Annoyance was seeping from the ork’s voice and it could be felt even over the comm.
-
"Screw it," Lash said, with frustration clearing in her voice and pulled out her Salvette and walked up to Eddie, putting the muzzle against his shoulder-joint, "Concrete, want to ask our little friend again before I pull the trigger and start performing ballistic surgery on this guy?" She sent a message to the team, <<the weapon is silenced, so it shouldn't attract any attention if I pull the trigger>> She turned to Eddie and smiled sweetly, "And honey, the 2nd bullet I put into you will go where the sun don't shine"
-
"ALRIGHT!!!!" started Eddie. "LOOK, I'm not saying she's getting taken to one of those Bunraku parlors that the Yaks run... She could have gone anywhere... She might be holed up in some old ass Yak's mansion as his new personal toy for all I know! These Yaks have THREE bunraku parlors that I know of in the city. Two of them are in the international quarter and one of them is closer to MCT headquarters. Now, if my idea leads you on some goose chase, that's your problem. I have no clue where she is or which parlor, if any, for that matter."
He moves his eyes to Lash, "Now get that steel off me... I'm not used to being the one getting poked."
-
Concrete shook his head slowly. That’s what I suspected. He spoke on the radio to the team. ”Do any of you know much about the yaks? Important question is, which of the three takes its girls from Heizo. Or if all do. I’m not really sure how the organizational structure goes at them.”
To Eddie, he only said ”Chill, man, still not here to do you harm. One more thing on my part. Give us a picture of Heizo. And don’t even start with not having one. You’re a resourceful man, you surely must have thought that one day, you might need it.”
-
"I never plan on selling out on my meal ticket, omae. I can tell you though that the guy isn't very big. He's about my size, typical Japanese guy, man, I dunno. He's probably got augments or something since I've seen him handle those girls with more strength than his size would have you think. He's got a stupid unicorn tattoo on his forearm. Not very 'yakuza bad ass' if you ask me."
-
”Well, it might come down to the point where its either your hoop or your meal ticket, omae.” To the others, he sent the message >>I think we have something to go on at least. Anything you still want of him? ‘Cuz if there’s nothing, I’ll finish up with advising him against telling anybody about our little visit.<<
-
A message shot up on the team's comms from Siren:
Hey guys, just had a close call with a Lone Star patrol out here responding to the shots fired. He left now but I feel it's only a matter of time before he gets suspicious and circles around.