Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: HydroRaven on <07-19-13/1922:12>
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Dawn breaks on the seat of the Japanese empire. The rising sun gradually overtakes the city lights, slowly replacing the nocturnal neon glow. With well over 40 million inhabitants in Neo-Tokyo, the City Without End could easily also be the City That Never Sleeps. Something is always happening in the JIS capital and someone always needs something dealt with.
On this particular June morning, only a few weeks away from the rainy season, the temperature is a comfortable 27C, the humidity between 40% and 50%. Clear skies is the forecast for the day, giving you something to be happy about. Akio Ryuu, Yaibei for the runners that know him, is already hard at work. Training for a great number of years already, he goes through his regiment every day with great focus. Both his body and mind must be ready if he is to earn his master's recognition.
Around 13:00, Akio is summoned for a private audience. After the appropriate politeness protocols, he sits down in the traditional seiza position on the tatami mat. His master talks to him calmly, "I have a task for you. I need you to go to a lawyer's office and retrieve some personal effects that belonged to a recently deceased dear friend of mine I haven't seen in over 20 years. Here is the address, I'm counting on you" says the sensei, handing Akio an envelope with an address in the Ginza area. The master bows to Akio, saying "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" and Akio bows back, lower than his master, as is expected.
Gathering a few of his belongings, Akio sets out, getting to the nearest train station. Yaibei gets the usual looks from children, parents telling them not to stare, people on the train preferring to stand rather than to sit next to him. He makes the 45 minute commute across Neo-Tokyo, getting off at Yurakucho station. After a few minutes of walking around, Yaibei finds the "Kodaira & Associates" offices in a modest building, on a side street.
He is greeted with a surprised look by the receptionist. The look only lasts a fraction of a second, professionalism quickly returning. She welcomes Yaibei, immediately telling him that the offices of "Trusty Taro", the Japanese lawyer advertising his cheaply-priced services to metahumans, is a few blocks away. Yaibei, being used to this, gives her a polite smile and tells her he is here on behalf of his master for the effects of Mizuki Kobayashi.
After being taken to Mr. Takeyama, the lawyer in charge of handling Ms. Kobayashi's last wishes, Yaibei bows before being given a business card and is invited to sit on a comfortable chair. Formalities eventually transform to business and Yaibei gives the contents of the envelope to the lawyer. The lawyer, verifying that the paperwork is in order, nods as he reads the documents. After a few moments, the lawyer leaves the room and comes back with a medium-sized wooden box. He hands it to Yaibei and asks him to sign a few forms. With the box in hand, Yaibei stands up, bows to Mr. Takeyama that returns the gesture and makes his way out of the lawyer's offices and back to his dojo.
Once back with his sensei, Akio waits as his master goes through the contents of the box. He first examines the death certificate with an emotionless face. He then goes through various personal effects, ranging from a commlink to a credstick to a traditional calligraphy brush. Lastly, the sensei opens a sealed letter that was addressed to him but sent to the lawyer's offices, written a few days ago by Ms. Kobayashi herself. As he reads the letter, the master's expression gets serious. "It seems your task will get more complicated than expected. I will need you to meet someone tonight at 21:30 at Womb club in Shibuya. This man will assemble a team to deal with this, so I want you to make sure this run is done properly. I am counting on you, Akio" says the teacher before bowing and dismissing Akio.
Around 16:50, 4 commlinks get a variation of the same message, from different sources.
@Pipebomb
From Sandman: "Work offer tonight at club Womb. Be there for 21:30."
@J
From Yamada: "I know you're looking for some nuyen, so club Womb tonight at 21:30 unless you're too busy."
@Kuren
From [:stid:] "1 g0t 0ff3r3d 4 j0b but c4nt t4k3 1t, s0 4s th4nk5 f0r 4ll y0ur fav0urs, 1m p4ss1ng 1t t0 y0u. th3 j0b c4nt b3 0n th3 b00ks th0ugh. club w0mb, 9:30"
@Smiley
From Max: "Hey there omae, how's it going? Heard you were crashing at Jodie's on a regular basis now, did you two finally hook up and didn't tell me or what? In any case, if you want to wine and dine the girl, you better get some money. This is where I come in: I have a job offer for you. Go to club Womb tonight at 21:30 and check it out."
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"Thank you very much, Watamote-san. I will be there."
Jumping into the air slightly he pumped his fist. Finally a gig! J looked down at himself, clothes worn and dirty, he scratches his head of greasy hair. Hrg, I should get changed.
Slipped into his armour he feels slightly better but he still had to contend with his Eau de Homeless and general look.
Physical Mask Force 6 Magic 5 + Spellcasting 8 + Moon Maiden 2 (15d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4139475/)
DV4 Will 5 + Cha 5 (10d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4139481/) 1 Stun
Luckily he could effortlessly weave a much cleaner, suited version of himself out of mana before starting his walk to the club. He slung his katana over his back, left an ARO for Joe and set off.
He had too much of an excited buzz to notice the headache.
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At "Jodie's Place" Daniel Smiling Wolf checks his com and grins, forwarding the note to the lady in question and also blind copying his response to her as well.
"That is not the way to get back into her good graces, or anywhere else for that matter, insinuating she would stoop to fooling around with a gutter trash gaijin that passes out in her bar. Thanks for the tip, I'll be there."
Jodie eyes him from the other end of the bar where she is sweet-talking a couple of tourists through another pitcher, and he gives her a silent salute and a wink as he ducks into the back to catch a quick nap on the cot before he heads out, it could be a long night ahead.
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Kuren was sitting in TIA HQ reading the latest detective fiction when he got the message for work. *How excellent, work has been to sparse lately. I certainly could use the nuyen and the exercise, both mentally and physically.*
To [:stid:] <I certainly appreciate the tip omae. I will be sure to investigate, where is the meet? Is there any other information available? >
Kuren begins to prepare his typical gear as he awaits further instruction.
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Kuren gets a quick answer "w0mb, 9:30 t0n1ght"
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Michael Fischer was busy, pouring over maps of Neo-Tokyo, traffic density reports, and media bites about the city's social hotspots, when he got the call from his fixer. He gave Sandman a curt reply, "Acknowledged." Fischer begin preparing for the meet with an unknown Johnson and an unknown number of unknown runners. Using plastic zipties, Fischer bound five sets of four sticks of dynamite, setting electric blasting caps in one stick in each set. He placed the detonators on a single circuit connected to an electric exploder. Fischer was worried that 5 kilos of dynamite might not be enough to also take out his assailants too if this was some kind of trap, I'm gonna have to buy a better exploder when I get the cash, and better explosives. After finishing with the mutually assured destruction option, Fischer wrapped it around his body and concealed it underneath a brown jacket that was two sizes too big for him. He had intentionally bought the oversized jacket for this expressed purpose, plus it also obscured his true physical profile. On top of that he'd cut a hole into the interior of the jacket so that he could run wires from inside the jacket to the right exterior pocket, so that he could keep the exploder in that pocket while having it ready for use. To conceal his facial features he put on a pair of sunglasses, a baseball cap, and flipped the collar of his jacket up.
He left his motel room and walked the three blocks to the shopping center where he parked his car. He drove his beat up Honda Spirit to the club two hours early. He hated driving a Nip made car, but an American made car would've drawn too much attention. He did several drive bys of the block the club was on, keeping an eye out for security measures, law enforcement, and anything overly suspicious.
[spoiler=Handling Detonators]
Demolitions 5 + Agility 4 = Pool 9
9d6.hits(5) → [5,1,2,6,1,5,1,2,6] = (4)
9d6.hits(5) → [1,6,6,1,5,4,4,2,5] = (4)
9d6.hits(5) → [6,1,4,1,2,4,4,4,6] = (2)
9d6.hits(5) → [6,2,2,2,4,5,4,4,2] = (2)
9d6.hits(5) → [2,2,6,1,1,6,6,6,3] = (4)
(http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4139940/)
No critical glitches, glad I have successfully not blown myself up on the very first test in the very first post. :P
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Perception]
Intuition 4 + Perception 5 + Hawk Eye 1 + Perceptive 2 + Actively Looking 3 = Pool 15
15d6.hits(5) → [1,4,3,1,3,5,2,5,2,3,1,5,3,6,4] = (4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4139944/)
[/spoiler]
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@Pipebomb
As you drive by the place, avoiding the random club-goers waiting in the streets (or what you would call a narrow alley back in California), you notice the usual security: a pair of bouncers at the front (one of them carrying what seems like a stun baton), a pair of cameras giving on both sides of the street and a camera on the inside looking at the entrance. Not 100 meters away the same setup is apparent, but this time for club Atom.
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Akio takes no time in grabbing some gear,strapping his katana to his back. Seeing he has some spare time he works through a session of sword training and ends with ]some meditation training to cool off. He then begins making his way to the public transportation that would get him to the club the quickest while attempting to keep a semi low profile. Once at the club he will take a look around the area to see if the man he is supposed to meet is there. If he does not see him He will make his way into the club.
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Kuren responds with a quick reply <Arigatō.>. He then pulls up the number for his usual taxi service and submits a request for pick up at 20:00, hoping to give him plenty of time to scope out the establishment before the scheduled meet. While waiting for the cab to arrive Kuren throws on his trench coat on over his suit and grabs his stun baton from it's charger making sure it is fully charged and places it in the deep pockets of the trench coat. Once he gets the notification from the cab that it has arrived, Kuren grabs his cane and hat on the way out the door. As he rides along Kuren pulls up AR on his contacts and does a quick search on the club.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4140419/) 2 hits, 5 1s :'(
Upon arrival he pays the cab and scopes out the crowd for a moment before heading inside, leaning slightly on his cane as he walks.
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Arriving after a very long walk J gets in line, hoping that he's on a guest list or something as he hasn't been told who to meet. He decides he might as well take a look around the astral for any clues.
Assensing 4 + Intuition 4 (8d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4140370/)
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At approximately the same time, Smiley makes the scene, rumbling in on his hog and then after chatting up a few familiar faces heading into the club. The Womb carries some fond if hazy memories, a lovely little thing in electric blue hair that made him tea the next morning his first week here. Heading for the bar and ordering a mixed drink to sip he is soon deeply interested in the life of the artist on the next stool.
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@Kuren
You quickly try to find as much as possible on club Womb and stumble upon a gold mine of information: club Womb was owned at some point by Ryumyo, the great Japanese dragon, and is now under joint control of the Yakuzas and the Triads in an attempt by Ryumyo to settle their differences.
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Thursdays are usually busy for the Neo-Tokyo nightlife and this one is no different. The line outside is about 20 minutes to get in, but mentioning your own street names gets you inside without so much as a pat-down.
On your way past the cashier, you notice the usual "Watch out for Foreign Crime Gangs" posters and the monthly event line-up for the club. A few patrons are out in the hallway where the music isn't as deafening as it is on the dance floor. The well-lit hallway eventually gives to a darker, louder dance floor packed with young Neo-Tokyoites. A few stares are aimed your way, sometimes by people incredulous that anyone would try to pull off that look here, sometimes followed by a few feminine "kakkoii".
You approach the barmaid, a platinum blonde with a dark tan and long nails and despite the music manage to ask where the meeting area is. She gives the usual Japanese polite smile while she looks you over. She then hands you a token to the VIP area and a drinking menu, raising one finger, indicating you may choose a drink. The list consists mainly of the synthetic stuff, with true alcoholic beverages being priced accordingly.
@J
A quick peek at the entrance reveals that the place doesn't seem warded except for a section inside the club. Nobody inside the general club population seems to be awakened, except for a faint expression on an Ork towering the rest of the crowd and what looks like a human Amerind.
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If it is free or there is anything he can afford J takes one to be polite. He thanks her and moves onto the VIP room, eager to start his new life. Mentally he's prepared for some sort of group job interview... when he pauses and realises the ward might be set off by his illusion... with no choice other than revealing he is a dirty hobo in a classy club, he presses on hoping for the best.
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At around 21:00, Fischer parked about four blocks away. He placed his hold out pistol, a Morrissey Elan, in a concealed holster at the small of his back. He figured the dynamite would probably be enough to deter assailants near him from attacking, but one couldn't be too careful. He also strapped a large survival knife to his hip, and for good measure placed a high explosive grenade in the left pocket of his jacket. He checked to make sure that his armored vest was properly secured before walking to the club.
He ignored the line of club goers and walked straight up to the bouncers, gave his alias, and entered the club unmolested. Once inside, he approached the nearest hostess and stated he was there for a meeting.
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At 2120, Smiley excuses himself from the woman's presence politely, securing the possibility of a rendezvous later to keep the evening from being a total loss. Then, securing a refill (alcohol, not synthetic), he moves to the VIP area, token in hand, returning the looks of any attractive women his unusual coloring draws with smile and nod.
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Once inside the club Akio heads towards the bar requests a glass of water and asks about a reservation. Ignoring any looks he receives, he does not care what these people think of him or the way he looks he takes a look around the club.
perception 8 +3 visual enhancement +3 actively looking.
14d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4140944/)
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@J
You make your way through the crowd to the VIP section where a somewhat tall Japanese man in a suit is standing guard. You present the token to him and he stands to the side, letting you through. The moment you cross the border between the dance floor and the VIP area the music gets softer, no doubt to you thanks to some magical help. Your fears materialize when the man stops you with one arm, clearly something not to his liking. He suddenly looks back as listening to someone. A few seconds later, his hand goes down and a soft "Dozo" escapes his lips, letting you through. About 10 meters away stands a lone round black table, large enough to accommodate 8-10 humans. A small lamp rests in the middle ofthe table, its soft light revealing a man sitting opposite the entrance. He motions for you to have a seat accross from him with a simple "please" the only word he says. "We're still waiting for a few people, so if you want another drink don't hesitate to tell the server." Standing at one end of the dark room is a woman in a tuxedo, bowing to you to let you know she is the server the man was referring to.
@Pipebomb
The sheer number of people in this place makes you nervous. You smile at the idea that you hold this many number of lives in your hands, but, after some quick reasoning, decide that your purpose would be better filled if you were to lay low and deliver your payloads some other way. Advancing towards the VIP room, the bouncer moves between you and the entrance. Looking you from head to toe, he shakes his head, clearly saying that you won't be entering the area with your trench coat. As if listening to someone, his eyes close for a fraction of a second longer then they should and the man steps to the side, a simple "Dozo" escaping his lips before he points open-handedly to a lone table at the end of the room where a man is sitting and another standing, both of them talking to each other.
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@Yaibei
You look around, spotting 5, no make that 6 people that seem to work security for the club. A handful of cameras (4 by your count) overlook the dance floor, keeping a watchful eye over the patrons. A VIP room stands at the far end of the dance floor, blocked off by one of the bouncers. On the opposite end of the room, a small corridor leads to the washrooms, where a line of women seems to never die off.
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Fischer made his way to the table indicated to him, keeping a hand on the exploder in one pocket and a hand on the grenade in the other pocket. He glanced about, cataloguing his surroundings during his approach. Luckily his eye movements were masked by the sunglasses he wore. Once in front of the table, Fischer nodded to the men present. He spoke in completely fluent japanese, "Konbanwa, shinshi. Watashi wa, kore ga yutakana kankei no hajimaridearu to omoimasu."
[spoiler=Perception]
Intuition 4 + Perception 5 + Hawk Eye 1 + Perceptive 2 + Actively Looking 3 = Pool 15
15d6.hits(5) → [3,6,3,4,3,5,3,4,4,6,1,2,1,5,1] = (4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4141116/)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Translation]
"Good evening, gentlemen. I hope this is the beginning of a prosperous relationship."
((I'm using google translation, and I'm uncertain as to how accurate it is.))
[/spoiler]
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@Pipebomb
You look around the room, hands in your pockets, as you slowly make your way to the table. The man sitting down is clearly a human Japanese, in what seems a fancy suit. The man standing up is another human, look vaguely Japanese, in somewhat decent clothes. The one standing is carrying a weapon of some sort, your guess being a blade from the shape of the object.
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Akio finishes his water gets up and makes his way towards the VIP room, *If there is a meeting, it must be there.
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*Oh my. This could be quite the hot bed I'm stepping into. I am certainly not one to question a great dragon but I must excercise the utmost caution.*
Kuren makes his way to the bar and orders a glass of water while carefully examining the crowd for any suspicious activities.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4141456/)
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"Sumimasen" he offers a faint apology to the guard. Thank god for understanding mages and commlinks.
"Thank you" J Bows firmly and low, acting as if this was a new corporate employer. As the second man enters J returns his greeting on Japanese, then unslings his katana, taking his seat and placing it next to him, propped up.
He decides he should probably take a look around, Joe all ways told him better to be paranoid then dead.
Assensing 4 + Intuition 4 Well dressed man and then Pipebomb. (8d6.hits(5)=1, 8d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4141458/)
Perception 3 + Intuiton 4 + Vision Enhancement R.3 + Actively Looking 2 The room, then the Well dressed man ad finally to see if Pipebomb is armed (No pun intended) (12d6.hits(5)=6, 12d6.hits(5)=4, 12d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4141463/)
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@ Yaibei
After finishing your water, the barmaid giving you a strange look when you chose not to drink any alcohol, you walk through the dance floor to the VIP room. The bouncer looks at you, takes the token and lets you pass, saying "Dozo" as you walk by. The deafening music instantly dims down the moment you enter the room, a single table in the middle of it. A man in a suit is sitting down and across from him one person is already sitting down, the other sitting. Both look at you, turning their heads over at your arrival. The man standing is rather tall with Caucasian features, the other one more Asian-looking.
@Kuren
Nothing out of the ordinary, 4 cameras giving on the dance floor, 6 security staff dispersed around the room, one of them guarding an entrance. You do notice an Ork (the only one in the club as far as you can tell) going by the said guard. Besides that, an Amerind-looking human is at the bar, chatting to some Japanese bird. The only other gaijin being an Indian-looking girl on the dance floor, dancing amongst a sea of Japanese people.
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*If my hunch is correct the meeting should be in the guarded room. I can't think of a better reason for an ork to be in a VIP room in this kind of club.*
Kuren makes his way across the club to the guard standing watch. He gives a slight bow and addresses the man in Japanese, "Excuse me sir I am here for a meeting and I believe it in within this room."
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@J
You take a good look at the man's aura and see that he is calm and somewhat thirsty. He is not Awakened.
For Pipebomb, you see him being nervous, yet somehow confident and excited. He is not awakened and doesn't seem to be chromed. His aura doesn't look familiar to you.
The room has nothing out of the ordinary, but you now notice a woman wearing a tuxedo standing at the far end of the room. There is a deliberate absence of cameras in the room.
The man sitting doesn't look like he's carrying any weapons, but you do notice his ears being chromed.
As for Pipebomb, he has both his hands in his pockets, obviously fiddling with something. He is carrying something underneath that trench coat of his, but you can't quite make out what it is. Your educated guess, given your location and the purpose of your meeting, would be some kind of weapon, but nothing you imagine matches the bulges in his coat.
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Upon Kuren's arrival, Mr. Tanaka says to everyone, "Please, have a seat. Order any drink you'd like, we're still waiting on a few last participants" and with that he waives at the woman in the tuxedo, who immediately comes forward. "Shochu for me."
@Kuren
The guard bows back to you and takes your token. "Sorry for the inconvenience, please go on ahead" answers the guard in Japanese before moving to the side, opening the way into the room. Once in, you see a fairly large black table with a dim light. A Japanese man is sitting down and across the table is another Asian-looking man sitting down. Standing up is a tall man wearing a trench coat, baseball cap and sunglasses and close to him is the Ork you saw go into the room earlier.
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Fischer reluctantly took a seat, the motion was awkward due to the items underneath his coat. He slumped in his seat to obscure any bulges that might betray the location of what lied underneath. He turned to the girl taking drink orders, "Whiskey sour." He turned back and sized up the ork and new arrival.
[spoiler=Perception]
Intuition 4 + Perception 5 + Hawk Eye 1 + Perceptive 2 + Actively Looking 3 = Pool 15
Yaibei: 15d6.hits(5) → [4,4,3,3,4,6,1,3,2,1,3,1,3,2,4] = (1)
Kuren: 15d6.hits(5) → [4,4,1,3,2,2,2,6,1,4,5,2,3,5,4] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4142150/)
[/spoiler]
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J continues to politely greet the other arrivals and nurse his drink. Syndicate maybe..
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@Pipebomb
Your order is met with a "かしこまりました" and a bow.
You take a look at Yaibei, noticing he is an Ork, but with a rather strange complexion. He definitely looks different from the other Orks, but nothing to make you uncomfortable. You see he is carrying a blade.
You then turn your attention to Kuren, a rather normal-looking Japanese man in a trench coat, a hat and a cane. You immediately think he must've gotten his looks from "Pimp Detectives Monthy", but say nothing for now.
@J & Kuren
As the tall man sits down on a chair, you hear the muffled sounds of something like candle sticks moving around under his trench coat.
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Akio Gives a small bow to each individual in the room then takes the closest seat near him then takes a look around the room.
3 Intuition 3 perception 2 enhanced perception + 3 vision enhance +3 actively looking.
14d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4142189/) room
14d6.hits(5)=4, (mr johnson)
14d6.hits(5)=3, Kuren
14d6.hits(5)=5 Fischer (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4142191/)
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J is immediately nervous at the sound, he'd heard it in training. He is obviously on edge since pipebomb sat down to those in the room. Is the bulge really... it cant be... is this a trap.. a hit on the guy hiring us?
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@Yaibei
Let me reference you to the other descriptions I gave earlier about the room and the other characters. You do notice some strange bulges in Pipebomb's coat.
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Kuren bows slightly to other occupants, offering a deeper one to the Japanese man on the far side of the table. He takes a seat close to the door and eyes the gaijin as he sits. *Surely he couldn't have gotten in without being searched. He looks like be belongs on a warning poster. What kind of drek have I gotten myself into now?*
Kuren quietly skims through the drink menu before ordering a Sapporo.
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@ Smiley
Talking to the girl sitting next to you (Jun, works in a retail shop close to Shibuya station), you forget why you came to the club. You ask the girl for her contact details and as you take your commlink to check it you realize it's already 9:28. You quickly stand up, tell the girl that you have to go but will surely see her around and walk to the VIP section. The bouncer, emotionless, takes your token and lets you go through with a "Dozo". As you walk into the room, you see 5 people, 4 of them on the same side of a table and one, a well-dressed Japanese man, sitting with a drink.
@ team
"Ah, one more makes it in the nick of time" says Mr. Tanaka. "Please, have a seat. The server will take your drink order if you want another one."
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Looks like our last guy maybe... at least I wont be blown up alone... J shifts uncomfortably hoping that once things get underway this wont turn into a sequel to a trid he once saw.
Declaring counter-spelling for myself and the Johnson
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Smiley holds up his glass to the server, "Keep this glass full and both of us can be very happy Beautiful." he throws her a grin and a wink.
A respectful bow to Mr. Tanaka "I hope I have not delayed our business sir, the time was clear on my invitation." He then takes a seat, his attention on the words and actions of the leader of the meeting.
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With everyone present and drink orders filled, the man in the expensive suit dismisses the woman in the tuxedo. "I was expecting more, but this will have to do. You've all been contacted because you have certain skills that I require for a job. Here's the abbreviated version: for ¥5,000 a piece, I want you to investigate the circumstances of a death." Mr. Tanaka then takes out a pack of cigarettes, pulls one out and lights it. At that moment, as if rehearsed, the same server comes back in with an ashtray, crystal it seems, and puts it on the table next to Mr. Tanaka. She then immediately exits the VIP room as Mr. Tanaka says "Let me know if this interests you and we'll discuss the assignment in greater detail."
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"I am interested. "
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"of course, please continue sir" *stop wasting time, I wouldn't be here if I did not have a reason*
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Fischer nodded affirmatively at Tanaka, "You've got my interest." He waited expectantly, *What kind of investigation needs a demo man?*
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@Mia
You wake up from a long night/morning in your bed. Wearing last night's clothes, you take a mouthful of whatever was in the bottle next to your bed. You notice your commlink flashing, meaning you got a message sometime between what you last remember and now. "Whatever it is, it'll have to wait for my shower" you tell yourself before going in the bathroom. After a quick (only 20 minutes) shower, you get out and ask that chick crashing on your couch if she'd be willing to pour you a cup of Soycaf. You get back to your room to plan your outfit when the commlink reminds you there's a message waiting.
From MacTavish:"Meow to you, Mia! I might have found you a gig tonight at Womb, but it's not musical. The meet is at 9:30, don't be late!"
You look at the time and realize it's already 21:15
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"Sunva!! Oi, Krystal, Gett that pasty white ass of yours off my couch and get me a damn soycaf, stat!!"
Mia rushes to her closet and pulls out a pair of tight fishnets, cutoffs and a white tank top throwing them on with the kind of energy only the chronically late can muster. She throws on a pair of knee high combat boots, and an old kahki comabt vest goes over the top giving her pockets to drop her comm's into. She grabs the soykaf from Krystal and breathes it more than drinks it, and gives her a quick peck on the check "Got some biz babe, make sure no wrecks up the place to bad while im out" giving Krystal a quick peck on the check and an impish grin.
Mia looks at her comm as she steps out of the elevator into the underground carpark. 9:22 "Shit, Shit, Shit" as she straddles her Scorpion, settles her google over her eyes and with a satisfiying roar, rips out of the complex on her hog heading downtown towards the Womb.
"Well, that could have gone better"
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@ Mia
You get to the club entrance and look at the time. 21:34. The bouncer at the front door lets you in and you rush to the dance floor. "Who the fuck am I looking for?" you ask yourself, looking around.You notice a security guard blocking a side-room and decide that's your safest bet for the meeting. As you walk up to him, he blocks the entrance and tells you there's a private meeting going on. You try to reason with him, saying you were invited to a meeting, but he is adamant this is not the "meeting" you were invited to. As he tries to convince you to move on, a voice from inside says "Let her through" and the bouncer moves to the side. You get inside the second room and are greeted by a man sitting down at a black table, 5 other people sitting across from him. The well-dressed man beckons you to sit down and repeats the run's details for you.
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"I am always interested in a mystery." Kuren says to the Johnson. *But why all these people? I could investigate a murder on my own... Unless it's one we haven't committed yet.* He slumps down slightly in his chair emulating his sinking suspicions about this job.
-
Scanning the room quickly, Mia sees smiley, a familiar face she recognises from the scene and one of the guys who seems to think hes some film noir detective
"Well with a team of this size and the dick tracy wannabe over there, should be a cake a walk, just play it cool, dont make a scene and hope this dont get in the way of any other gigs."
Mia leaps to her feet and slams her hands down on the table
"FUCK YEAH!! Sign me up, bitches!!" and flashes one of her winning and over excited smiles, the sounds of a shredding guitar can be heard faintly in quite shock of the room.
"Aww yeah, smooth as silk bitch, smooth as silk"
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Mr. Tanaka says "You must have quite a few, but your question will be answered shortly. I just need to make sure whomever is present to hear this is a participant first."
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J's quiet agreement had been little more than a squeak after hearing "5000" he could eat for days if they pulled this off. Feeling that Mr Tanaka had missed his attempt at word he tried again but was drowned out by the sudden outburst of the late arrival. J jumped, barely holding his illusion together.
"I-I'm in if you're all happy to have me."
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Smiling, Mr. Tanaka takes another drag of his cigarette and says. "A woman died recently and her personal effects were left to a friend she hadn't seen in over 20 years. Inside those belongings was a sealed letter explaining, in code, that her death was not a natural one.
"You are to find out who did this and why. An address was left on the sealed envelope, which should prove a solid starting point. The victim's name was Kobayashi Mizuki." Mr. Tanaka takes a pause to sip his drink and smoke his cigarette. "Any questions?"
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"Why so many people for an investigation? Playing gumshoe certainly doesn't fall in my wheelhouse, so what's the catch here?"
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"Obviously, he expects trouble from the investigation, and wants the assets asking the questions to not be linked back to him should trouble come. The questions that must be asked are certain to rile the questionees, which is why he is hiring such a rude group of questioners." Smiley spares an apologetic glance for his fellows, hoping some of the rougher ones missed the slight entirely.
"Do we have a timetable? Limits on questions, or on Qustionees?" Smiley is already calling up appropriate resources and files the name on a ScrapNoteTM of his com for ready reference, "Your offer is generous, barring those obstacles, as long as there is a sufficient enough advance and some expense coverage to be included?" Smiley lets the question hang, hoping these strangers will be professional enough to allow him to negotiate, unmolested.
12d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4143669/)
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Mr. Tanaka looks at Pipebomb and says "The catch is that we asked to see the death certificate to confirm the cause of death but were told at the last minute that our request got overridden by a higher authority. I'll let you guess as to who or what is higher authority." He then turns to Smiley and says "No timetables per say, but the longer you take, the colder the trail. I can't grant you an expense account, but I can give you ¥1,000 each in advance and the full ¥5,000 upon completion. Once you're done, come back to this club and tell the barmaid that gave you the VIP tokens "A rat doesn't fly but a crane dies alone". She will then tell you where and when to make the exchange."
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J gave Smiley a concerned look, "That is a bit harsh considering we all just me." Turning to Tanaka, "Um... Is proof enough or do you want us to bring whoever is responsible to you?"
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Smiley looks at J with a grin, "We haven't all 'just met'..." The Amerind reaches back to rub his shoulder blade ruefully, but the grin stays as he glances towards Mia, ;) "This kitty in particular has pretty sharp claws for example, but we are all professionals, and we can get to know each other over noodles later." Smiley settles back with his drink and let's the others get their information, his part settled.
;D 8)
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Kuren raises one hand slightly, "Actually sir i have a multitude of questions would you prefer I compile a list? It would be easier than rattling them off but it's up to you."
He mentally starts a file labled 'The Tanaka Investigation' the first thing is a list of several questions which could aid in the start of the case. He prepares to display the list in AR for all to see.
1) Last known address of the victim
2) Any known enemies
3) Did the victim have any romantic interests?
4/5) Would it be possible to get a copy of the will or autopsy?
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Mr. Tanaka turns over to J. "No need to bring anybody here. There are other ways to honour a person's memory, and we will decide what to do once you can provide the necessary information. We would like proof, however, of that information." He then reaches into his coat to take something, the gesture making Pipebomb tense long enough to realize he is reaching for his glasses. He puts them on and takes a look at the AR document.
"Alright, the only address we have is the one on the envelope. The interested party hadn't seen Ms. Kobayashi in 20 years, so no information on enemies or love interests. We couldn't get a copy of the autopsy, as mentioned before, and the will was a crude one, leaving her personal belongings to goodwill except for a box of items, including the coded letter, to the interested party."
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"What else was in the box, may I ask? Heirlooms?" J doubted they'd be so lucky as to contain a commlink with all the information they needed but hey, a piece of paper with initials or a receipt or any trinkets could be useful.
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Kuren furrows his brow and nods as the Johnson answer, "The address is an adequate start."
He looks around to his fellow runners, "If we have come to an agreement I suggest we begin our investigation immediately."
With mental commands he starts a search on the location.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4143862/) This time with no 1s ;D
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Fischer's interest was certainly peaked at this point, *Higher authority, huh? That means government or Japanacorp, one in the same really. Looks like I'll be making money and serving The Cause, can't ask for more than that.*
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Mr. Tanaka answers J's question with "All personal belongings, including a commlink. It was the disposable kind though, and, surprisingly, nothing was on it. No contacts, no media, no last calls nor messages. We went through it more than once, but it seems it's fresh off the rack."
-
@Kuren
A quick search shows you the address to be close to Ogikubo station, in Suginami ward.
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"Would you mind if we took it? Fresh eyes and all that. Where it was bought could narrow down where she's been recently at least." Maybe i can gleam an aura or summon a Spirit of Man...
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An eyebrow perks as the comlink is mentioned and Kuren nods at J's question, "He is correct perhaps we can find something that's been missed. You are paying for our skills."
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"I think pressing our Mr Johnson on this be less than useful to future business. If he says there is nothing, at this point, we should take him at his word. We have an address to check and noodles that need eating, let's get to it." Smiley will rise from the table his hand politely touching it, awaiting the advance. Once funds have been secured he says "There is a noodle shop on the corner, first bowl and bottle is on me, let's go get to know each other."
:) :D
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"The commlink is not here with us, but I can assure you there was nothing on it. As far as we can tell, it was purchased quite recently. We have no idea where she purchased it nor when. And as far as auras go, it's been handled by so many people now that anything you pick up will probably just be the last few people that carried it. But if you think it'll help, I can have it to you by tomorrow."
-
"All right then, I think we should take a look at it anyway... I'll leave it up to my new associate here," He gestures and smiles briefly at Kuren.
Though he didn't like Smiley's impatience... or eagerness at least, he felt they probably were done here so he rises and bows very low. "Thank you for this opportunity to prove myself."
-
Fischer rose from his seat just as awkwardly as he had sat. Using his left hand, the observant in the room noticed that his right hand never left his pocket, he raised his glass to Tanaka-san, and then drained the remainder of its contents. He turned to Smiley, "The sooner we get this little meet-and-greet of your's over with, the sooner we can get the job done and get paid."
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"Oh come on tall, dark and gloomy, this sounds like the best part of the gig so far. Well except for the getting paid bit" Mia is already heading to the door when she calls over her shoulder "You comin little dick??" She smiles a one of her winning smiles, flicks her hair and continues out the door.
"Damn, im funny!!"
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@J
"In that case, please come back tomorrow around 11:00. It will be waiting here for you."
@Team
Mr. Tanaka gets up from his seat, putting his cigarette out in the ashtray. "If that's all the questions you have, then this is where I wish you good luck with your task. You can take your advance from the bouncer on your way out." He then sits back down in his chair and takes what remains of his drink in his hand.
As you exit the VIP section, Smiley gets a credstick from the bouncer and you notice 3 young girls going in your opposite direction, Mr. Tanaka clearly eager to party.
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"We already got some pay, Paleface, and we gotta have a little chat if we are gonna figure out what it is we all do." Smiley continues to chat as he takes the lead and guides them out of the club. Once speech is possible to be heard again outside, he continues. "Take you for example, something tells me you are not the type to handle any interpersonal dialogue, you might just overwhelm them with your sunny disposition. So what does your skill set involve? Mine is being a people person, up close and personal like, I can chat someone up or I can put them on their ass, I am pretty good either way." When Smiley reaches the shop he drops 100 nuyen on the counter and grabs a table.
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Fischer sneered at the Ameridian, "Name's Pipebomb, I'm a demoman with infiltration skills. And you'd be surprised at how chatty I can get people." When he was sure no one outside the group would notice, Fischer, using only his left hand of course, opened up his coat slightly to reveal the five kilos of dynamite strapped to his body, "Yep, people tend to be down right agreeable with me."
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Smiley looks unperterbed (OOC: Seriously, he is magical that way ??? :o ;D ) and says "Now see, that is the kind of thing that a person experienced in interpersonal dialogue would refer to as a 'hindrance to communication', that said, I can see the value of the skillset in a dramatic interrogation." Looking around to the others, "Who else wants to share?"
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Kuren stands looking very confused as the others stand and exit. "Tomorrow then. I will be here." He gives a final bow before hobbling after the others.
Bringing up the rear of the group Kuren's glasses flicker with the glow of AR displays. He begins to make a list of the names his companions give and a short description of how they look and their skill sets. He speaks up to the Amerindian, "You all my call me Mokumokuren or Kuren for short. I am an investigator with some Matrix talent. My speciality is seeing how the pieces fit together."
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Akio Bows to both the men remaining in the room before following his new "team". As they leave the club he hears that sweet talker get them to spill what they do. After they all stop and introduce themselves he takes a moment to bow slightly. " you may call me Yaibei, as for what I do I am an infiltration specialist and dam good with my blade.
Gonna point out. my character has veerrrrryyy little "English" most of what he says should be assumed to be in Japanese, though he does speak Korean fairly well as well.
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"Well smiley, you know me, but I dont think i've seen any of you guys around the scene. The names Mia Meow, front woman and lead guitar for MONKEY Majik!! Also do some session work under a bunch of alias, you heard of Trixie Paine, or Space Boi !" Mia pauses and looks everyone in the eyes to see how impressed they all are. The mostly blank stares mean nothing to her tho and she goes on unfazed. "Any way, my manager, MacTavish has me do a bunch of stuff on the side, you know this sort of thing, mostly im hired on to help cut deals or play pretty distraction to get people thru the front door, but every now and then, when the shit really hits the fan, I'll be in there slingin my mojo or convincing a Kami to keep the heat off our tails. Also im not bad at making sure you dont look like yourselves going in and the we clean up the mess on the way out."
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J was a bit worried, the lady with the large personality was making his role seem a bit superfluous. "Oh um... that's what i do too.. Well i don't specifically refer to them as Kami though i suppose that is what i'm summoning..."
J scratched his head, "I guess two Illusionists can't hurt but maybe Mr. Tanaka double booked us? I've, er, never been on a Run before so this might be a mistake."
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"Oi, Jitterbug, dont worry your pretty little head about it. If you play with sparkles, I'm a bit more focused on REALITY!!" The last word coming out with an overly dramatic flourish and a crazy smile.
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"Heh... all right... I guess none of you have seen through the illusion i'm wearing right now so I can remain confident at least."
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Slurping noodles and swigging his beer, while he listened to the others, Smiley pops up once everyone speaks, "I wouldn't worry about It kid, Johnson seems to have double-stacked on a lot of specialties, having another mojo slinger is never a bad thing." Smiley's comment deliberately leaves who is backing up whom open to interpretation. Looking at Pipebomb he continues, "See bud? Relatively painless, now we just need to address the situation of wheels." Looking around, he continues, "I brought my bike, but I can leave it if someone has a car? Also, I have a few calls to make before we head over to that address, I would really like to know who the opposition is before they have a foot on my neck."
Firing off texts to Tetsuo and Aki to see about their availability "Got time to chat? :) "
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Fischer stared impassively at Smiley, "I have a two seater that I'm going to have to take. Can't really transport my gear, well more than I already am, without it. Depending on how things go, I might also have to pick up more supplies from home."
-
Kuren shyly speaks up, barely over a mumble, "I do not own a vehicle but I have the number of a very reliable cab company. They have not let me down in the past. I'd be happy to summon a few vehicles..." The timid Japanese man trails off looking at the ground for a moment before continuing, "Perhaps we could rent a van for the duration of the investigation. I apologize I am still growing accustomed to working with more than one partner."
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" I walked here, I don't own a vehicle, so if noone has another option I can walk there as well if it comes to it." Not exactly lying Akio over exaggerates how he got here, just slightly. He finally uncrosses his arms as he says this. as for the cabs It doesn't seem like a dangerous job, still would rather not have a trail, especially if something happens and we have to ditch the vehicle. Though if everyone else is ok with it, I guess it would just be a trail to you. He nods at kuren, unless your friends can cover that stuff up. * I would rather not have to hitch a ride with mr time bomb here...*
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"I walked too.. um I can't afford anything else." J followed along closely, "Oh and I'm Co-... I mean, I'm J, nice to meet you."
-
"I am willing to call and pay, if necessary. Though we did just get an advance. I could pay and submit a bill of services once our business is concluded if that would be preferable. Either way tracing it back to any of you will not be an issue."
Kuren smiles and nods eagerly.
-
"I need to keep as much of my share as I can... I'll walk."
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Smiley shakes his head, "We got three rides, cuz I know Kitty rides an iron horse like me. We just gotta get you waffle stompers strapped on, I'll take the cheapskate there." he indicates J then looking at Pipebomb again, he asks, "We rollin' deep to your place or do you wanna meet at Ogi Station?"
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"Who wants to strap on and ride with me, no protection! *wink* "
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"If you don't mind I'd like to ride with you." Kuren almost jumps with his response. *Better her than the scary looking gaijin. *
-
"as I would be walking otherwise, if there is more room I would like to as well."
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The elf looked deeply affronted at Smiley's suggestion that he bring them all by his place, "I'm not bringing any of you within five kilometers of my home. I'll meet you at the station. Since its my two seater and their two bikes, one of you is going to have to walk there. You figure out which one it is." With that Fischer rose and left the diner, headed in the opposite direction of his car. A few blocks down he cut through some alleyways and made his way to his vehicle. Once in his car, he drove a winding path, full of backtracks and random turns, back to the neighborhood his motel was in. He hated to do it, but needing to transfer gear from his room to his car meant he had to drive right up to the motel. He first returned to his room to disarm the explosives strapped to him. He then quickly transferred explosives to the trunk of his car and placed the detonators, the exploder and the grenades in a box, which he put under the passenger seat along with his demolitions kit. After he finished packing, Fischer transferred his Ares Predator from the glove box to a concealed shoulder holster. He took an even more winding path out to the meet point.
[spoiler=Disarming Dynamite]
9d6.hits(5) → [6,6,4,3,4,5,3,4,3] = (3)
9d6.hits(5) → [1,4,3,5,3,1,6,5,4] = (3)
9d6.hits(5) → [5,1,4,6,6,1,4,5,6] = (5)
9d6.hits(5) → [5,3,2,6,3,2,4,2,1] = (2)
9d6.hits(5) → [3,3,5,2,3,4,4,4,1] = (1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4145823/)
Yay, I still haven't exploded.
[/spoiler]
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Smiley watches the explosive gentleman leave, his quizzical grin unmarred. "No reason for anybody to walk, let's get the mage and the sword to the station so they can start doing recon on the address and I will come back for Dick Tracy, you can do some matrix magic while you wait. Sound good?"
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"Works for me, it'll be nice to work with another shaman again."
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"Well I have already done a basic search on the address. Without more information there is little I can do. There is no reason for you to make two trips. I will find my own way. Plus I really should go grab my kit."
Kuren summons a cab to pick him up and return to HQ. There he'll grab his briefcase containing a kit with all the necessary tools to collect samples and his hand held scanner. Then he hails a cab for several blocks away under a false ID to the address.
He sets off to work spoofing a comcode and registering the ride under his "alternate" ID.
Hacking 3 + Spoof 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4145830/)
Telling the cab to meet him three blocks over as soon as possible.
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"Alright, swordy boy, (with the w in sword prononced) spose your riding with me big boy" and Mia beckons with him over with her finger.
-
"Be careful dude, she bites." ;) 8)
Smiley will head out to the address.
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@Smiley
Tetsuo gets back to you after a few minutes: "Yes, Smiley, what can I do for you?"
-
On his way to the meet point Fischer called his fixer, "Hello, Sandman. I accepted the job. I was wondering if you could do a bit of digging on the runners I'm working with and on the target of our investigation." He gave Sandman the aliases of the runner, a brief description of each, and the name of the woman who's death they were charged with looking into.
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"lets hope eh?" He says to smiley before walking over to mia. "Gonna be honest, first time I have ridden a what did you call it, bike? Lets see what it can do. hope you can impress" He has a grin on his face that shows he really is excited about it, even if just slightly.
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"Saddle up slice'n'dice, your in for a hell of a ride!!" Mia guns the throttle and the scorpoin lets out an almighty roar. The sound of car alarms is left quickly in the distance and soon is completley drowned out by the thumping noise of the speakers Mia had installed. "Not bad aye!!" She yells back over her soulder, tho whether he could hear it or not...
As she follows the directions to the station, Mia sends a quick message to MacTavish "Tav, whats with the job, not the normal work you line up for me? You got any idea how long this is gonna take? Cause if i miss a gig for this im gonna tear off your nut sack... Love ya!!"
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@Pipebomb
Sandman gets back to you almost instantly: "Who are you running with, the whole Imperial fleet? I'll get you some info, but this many people will cost you something."
@Mia
MacTavish answers "Come on kitty, I know this is not your usual skit, but there's one big advantage this has over your usual stuff: this pays real, hard cash. And if you do it right, there might be a chance for repeat business."
-
"Your price?"
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"Awesome! Gotta get me one of these, well first gotta learn how to drive it. Just, are all of them so loud? He says this a bit fast.
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@Pipebomb
"I'll figure something out when I get the information."
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Fischer didn't like Sandman's evasiveness in the slightest, but remained diplomatic, "Well, when you know what your price is, pitch it to me."
-
You decide to park close but not too close to your destination. The apartment building looks very plain. On a narrow street, 5 floors make the bulk of it, with the front doors of every apartment visible from the outside.
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@Tetsuo
"A woman has died and in spite of appearances, foul play may be involved. When I have proof I will let you know something, but until then I need intel myself. Careful of any trees you shake, her name is Kobayashi Mizuki."
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@Smiley
"Will do, I'll get back to you when I find something."
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Kuren exits his cab two blocks away from the address and pulls out his sensor and begins scanning as he approaches the apartment, making sure to get a clear shot of his associates. He holds up his briefcase as he rejoins the group, "My apologies but now I'm ready to begin the investigation. I must ask though that you all try to observe great caution inside. Disturbing anything could greatly hinder our work."
<//initiate_Investigation.Protocol_1A//>
IIRC Firewall counts against your total programs running, here's what Kuren has loaded up and running in his com: (Let me know if I need to edit to keep my response from dropping.
Firewall Rating 5
Analyze Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Armor Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
Attack Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
Browse Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Edit Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
Encrpyt Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Exploit Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Scan Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
First things first, encrypting the case file
Computer 3 + Encrypt 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148274/)
Open an encrypted channel with the party, providing secure communication
Computer 3 + Encrypt 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148280/)
After that I'll search for a node within the apartment and scan for any hidden nodes.
Elec. Warfare 3 + Scan 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148275/)
Finally I want to run my associates through the Facial Recognition software (especially Pipebomb), not sure what to roll with that though.
//initiate Chat Room "Mizuki Case Log" - message from Eyes_That_Watch: <I have secured this channel for private communications. Shall we head in now?>
-
"Not yet, we should get an astral recon first." Looking at J
-
@Kuren
You open the apartment's registry, looking for a Mizuki Kobayashi. To your surprise, nobody matches that name. You double-check the address on the envelope. Apartment 409. But the node clearly says that apartment 409 is being rented to a Fumiko Kawaguchi. (OOC: For your companions, give me an extended search test)
-
Also adding in a search check Fumiko Kawaguchi. Also does it list a move in date?
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148464/)
Here's a handful of rolls for the Extended Search:
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=3, 10d6.hits(5)=1, 10d6.hits(5)=3, 10d6.hits(5)=1, 10d6.hits(5)=0 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148465/) Crappy results but no glitches. I'll make another round of rolls.
10d6.hits(5)=2, 10d6.hits(5)=3, 10d6.hits(5)=4, 10d6.hits(5)=5, 10d6.hits(5)=0 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148466/)
20 hits after 10 intervals. I'm assuming the intervals are relatively short otherwise once we move on the apartment I'll drop the search until later.
<We may have an issue. The building's registry is showing the apartment as currently occupied. I am attempting to find more information.>
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@Kuren
You find a move-in date, which sets it just under 20 years ago. There are no complaints about the tenant, nor any late payments. Besides this apartment, you don't find anything else related to Fumiko Kawaguchi
Your search in your teammates yields modest results: Yaibei seems to always work through the same fixer, which makes this run odd. Smiley looks like he got some issues in Denver. He now frequents "Jodie's Place" more often than the average regular. J used to work for SK-P in Tokyo until he got the boot not too long ago. As far as his street reputation goes, nothing is known. Mia is somewhat famous on the music scene. She has close ties to a MacTavish, which also makes her close to the Burning Stars, a small gang of burned slingers. As for Pipebomb, you find that he was originally from California, in San Francisco durin the Japanese events there. He seems to have moved to Japan shortly after the conflict "resolved". He specializes in explosives.
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@Smiley
Aki gets back to you. "Smiley-san, what can I do for you?"
-
<Oh my apologies. It seems it was a pseudonym used by our victim, it's been registered to the same name for 20 years. A Fumiko Kawaguchi. Initial searches proved unfruitful, further inquiries required.>
His messages come across more like a scientist documenting procedures than a runner talking to peers.
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"Yeah I'll take a look inside... Um... I'll need to drop my illusion, so i hope you don't mind Smiley, one moment," J sat on the ground, propped against a wall or Smiley's bike and dissolved his illusion, returning to his unwashed, homeless state, wearing an Urban Explorer Jumpsuit instead of his business clothes. He scanned his astral perception over the building, and providing nothing stands out, he projects and heads to the apartment to take a look inside. If the place is empty he will materialize and look around.
Assensing test on outside of building (8d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148980/)
Assensing test on inside of the apartment (8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148982/)
Perception test on inside of the room (10d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4148984/)
-
"if we want someone to sneak in for a look I could do it."
-
@J
You take your spirit self to the other side and have a look at the whole building. You notice one Awakened soul, but it is an infant girl. She probably hasn't been tested yet, given her young age.
You then go into apartment 409 and take a look inside, not seeing anything unusual on the astral, except for shadows. You materialize and have a look inside, seeing nothing strange except for an apartment with nobody inside. A thorough search might reveal something of interest, but as far as you can tell, nothing seems unusual.
-
"Let's get the astral recon in then if you think you can pull it off, follow Mia's play so she can distract the meat, any security on the building you can take out for the blade, Kumen?" Smiley is not comfortable with how he has started giving orders, but considering the alternative...he takes a nip from his flask to steady his nerves.
@AkiHey Cutie, so I am working, And it comes up that a certain autopsy report seems to be hard to get ahold of. Not asking you to get it, though that would be INCREDIBLY helpful, but I do need to know who has it on lockdown. If you can find that out, I will be yours to do with as you please for as long as you want to. ;) :-* 8)
-
@Smiley
"Whom are we talking about, Smiley-san? I'll see what I can do."
-
Fischer was the last to arrive by a wide margin. He parked six blocks away and cut through alleyways until finding the rest of the group. He scoped out the area while the others did their parts. He kept an eye out for easy access points, and security cameras.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [6,1,3,3,2,3,1,2,3,4,4,4] = (1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4149393/)
[/spoiler]
-
@AkiMizuki Kobayashi, possible alias of Fumiko Kawaguchi, anything you find, holla back.
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Mia heads for the front door, keeping an eye open for anything out of the ordinary 6d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4149639/) and hoping that there is someone on the door.
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Returning to his body momentarily, "The apartment is empty, I'll start taking a look around." And with that he began searching the apartment as best he could while materialized.
Diminishing perception check for the search (7d6.hits(5)=1, 6d6.hits(5)=2, 5d6.hits(5)=2, 4d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4149664/) glitch on the 4d6 but it is an extended test so i might be safe by then
Diminishing perception check for the search (3d6.hits(5)=2, 2d6.hits(5)=1, 1d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4149665/)
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@Pipebomb
You look around, but besides the odd security cameras, you spot nothing strange.
@Smiley
"Alright, will do."
@Mia
You walk up to the entrance of the building, the neon light above the alcove attracting a few bugs. The lobby, old but relatively well-kept, tells you there are 60 apartments. No one is present, and as you turn around you find yourself staring at a security camera giving on the entrance, exactly where you're standing.
@J
You take a quick look around the apartment, and see that it has 3 main rooms. Looking some more, you see that the rooms consist of a bathroom, a living room/kitchen and a bedroom. The apartment is relatively clean, but also very zen in that it doesn't have a lot of furniture. In the kitchen you do notice some dishes in the sink, which tells you someone ate here not that long ago. As you're looking around, a loud *thud* coming most probably from one of the neighbours startles you, but you keep looking. You find nothing else of interest, but you do notice a few drawers/closets/etc. that could benefit from a thorough search.
-
After another quick astral trip to check on the noise (Tell me if you want a roll), I materialize next to Smiley hiding in a shadow. "Nothing stands out except unwashed, but not old dishes, looks like its been lived in recently. There's drawers and closets someone solid would need to go through."
And with that he starts working to remove his astral signature from the area.
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"Balls!" Mia lowers her head and mutters under her breath, then quickly refocusing, snaps her attention straight down the barrel of the camera "You guys got a space to rent? Hellooo? Ah, screw this shit!! I'll find another space" and with a shrug of her shoulders, turns on her heel and wanders back towards her bike.
"Well shit!! That won't fly. I'ma gonna boot around to the closest pub and make sure I'm seen, be back in an hour unless something serious happens. I'll leave a watcher just in case."
Mia does as she says, heading for the nearest pub and making a scene and once enough time has passed (or there is an emergency) she will cast makeover and fashion (force 5) to change her look and clothing drastically and slip out a bathroom window and meet up, where ever they get too.
Summon Watcher12d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150210/)
Spellcasting16d6.hits(5)=5, 16d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150211/)
Drain12d6.hits(5)=4, 12d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150216/)
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Dropping Scan rating 5 and starting up Stealth rating 3.
Hacking on the Fly: Going for admin account (Firewall + 6) threshold, Complex Action. With cold sim I have 2 IPs.
Using Edge of the first roll and hoping for the best.
Hacking 3 + Exploit 5 + Edge 3 = 11d6
11d6.hitsopen(5,6)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150242/)
That sucked, next pass:
8d6.hits(5)=0 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150243/)
2nd Combat Turn:
8d6.hits(5)=3, 8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150246/)
After two full turns I can get in assuming it's Firewall 5 or less. So that's four test to find me versus Stealth Rating 3. Plus I'll throw in a Matrix Perception for good measure:
Computer 3 + Analyze 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150259/)
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Fischer didn't notice any unusual security, but that didn't mean much. He assessed where any hidden security measures where likely to be.
[spoiler=Knowledge Check: Security Design]
Security Design 4 + Intuition 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [6,6,6,3,4,6,5,1] = (5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150449/)
[/spoiler]
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@Kuren
After trying to get the firewall open, you finally get into the node and have a look around (OOC: What are you looking for?)
@Pipebomb
Looking at the building more specifically, you know that by design the building's security is very low. Most probably a few cameras at the entrances/exits, but most definitely no security guards. Oftentimes the only "security" is the landlord living on the premises with his finger on the phone dial.
-
HyrdroRaven I'm gonna try to get into building security and see what if any kind of devices may be guarding the apartment, maglocks, cameras, etc. Also I'd like to check the CHN to see if there's any info or unusual devices slaved to it.
Basically I'm looking for anything that's stopping us from walking into the apartment or anything that looks out of place matrixwise
[/spoiler]
-
@Kuren
The inside of the security node is surprisingly simple. You look around, but quickly determine that the node holds nothing special or out-of-place. You also take that opportunity to determine if there are any physical security measures that would prevent you from reaching the apartment. As far as this node goes, besides the cameras overlooking the entrance and the garbage disposal unit, there are no barriers slaved to the building's security node.
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After reassuring himself that the apartment building was no more than it seemed, Fischer scanned the neighborhood, searching for good spots to use for observation of the apartment in question.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [2,4,2,6,6,5,1,4,5,6,6,2] = (6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150647/)
[/spoiler]
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@Pipebomb
You have a look around the neighbourhood, trying to find a spot with a good view of the building. You conclude that 2 spots would fulfill your needs: the other building from across the street and a small park 200m away, but you'd need some sort of vision magnification to see things properly if you were to stay in the park.
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Fischer spoke for the first time since arriving, "J, scout out the building directly across the street from the apartment. The people that killed this woman may have had her place under surveillance. It's a long shot, but they might not have cleaned out their roost yet." Once Kuren returned to the meat world, "Kuren, check out the records of that building, see if anything suspicious pops up."
-
"Okay will do."
Assensing the building opposite and then assensing the room directly opposite (8d6.hits(5)=2, 8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150736/)
Taking a look inside the room opposite if it is void of life at the moment. (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4150738/)
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"Yaibei, looks like you're up. Go in and toss the place, see what you can find, if Kuren is in the system he can open it up for you." Smiley keeps an eye on the street, but Pipebomb's comment has him calling up some other partygirls he knows. It's a longshot, especially since this lady has been hiding, but figuring out who she was might give a line on who wanted her dead, and may give the team a line on their Johnson as well. Trying Yuriko first Smiley fires of another text, "Hey beautiful, you got a minute for a brave redskin warrior?" ;) 8)
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@J
You take a look at the building across the street. The building is mostly devoid of anything magical except for some wards on a single apartment. You do notice it is on the second floor, second door from the stairs, which should make it 202. The apartment straight ahead from where "Fumiko Kawaguchi" was living has nothing interesting astral-wise, but there is presently a person inside. This person seems to be doing some sort of manual labour, but you can't tell what it is from your view in the Awakened world.
@Smiley
You immediately get an answer back: "Smiley-kun, how are you? I'm at Camelot tonight, are you coming over? I'd really like to see you (>o<)/~~<3"
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@Yuriko
:( I am working, but maybe we can do something later.
Smiley glances down at J's undisguised form
Hey, you still friends with that girl that owns the salon downtown? I got a buddy that needs a makeover and a date to get him back on the right track, and he is a wizzer so I know she'll be all about him. We can all go tear it up afterwards. ??? ;D
Anyway, I was hoping you can help me with a name, might be somebody big from around here back in the 50s.
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<There does not appear to be any countermeasures preventing entry. I should go in with Yaibei to make sure he doesn't 'toss' anything. That could be a crime scene, I need to take samples for testing back at the lab. I am of little use out here other than making sure no alarms are sent.>
He looks to Yaibei and motions for him to lead the way.
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"The building across has one warded room, probably someones lodge. Room 202, straight across has someone inside doing something physical.. I can't see what it is without risking being spotted."
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"It might be one of our killers packing up. We need to know what's going on up there. Can you make me invisible?"
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"I got it." says Smiley walking towards the building.
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@Smiley
"A makeover and a date sounds fun (^v^) Who's the person you need info on?"
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@Kuren
As you take a look around the node, you notice an alarm has been triggered by your hacking. The node knows someone is in but hasn't noticed you yet. You take a look at the camera feeds and see nothing unusual except for Mia's short stunt at the entrance. It shouldn't be too difficult to edit that out.
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"Yes, hold still while i weave the light around you." J began concentrating on a force higher than himself flowing through him, something that could bend visible light and keep Pipebomb safe.
He winced as his headache renewed with extra vigor, but his mana weaved into a force that could bend the universes usual laws in the relatively tiny area around pipebomb. "There you are."
Force 6 improv Invis followed by a DV4 Resist (15d6.hits(5)=5, 10d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4151543/) 1S taken, 2 stun total.
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Considering I have security access I'm going to Spoof Command to make the system believe the intruder has already been dispatched. Dropping Attack Rating 5 for Spoof Rating 5.
Hacking 3 + Spoof 5 = 8d6. (Opposed by target's Pilot + Firewall or System + Firewall for peripherals)
8d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4151572/)
Hopefully I'll get lucky and that's enough and now to edit Mia off the footage.
Computer 3 + Edit 5 = 8d6.
8d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4151573/)
The castle is not kind to me tonight. If neither of my efforts succeed I'll try again with another round of rolls, as long as it doesn't interfere with us going inside to investigate.
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@Yuriko
Mizuki Kobayashi is the name, neighborhood of 20 years back
Smiley will open doors wide and leave them to swing closed slowly, he can't see pipebomb, but he is doing his best to easily give him plenty of room if he is staying with him. He is trying to get to the apartment, the idea being to burst in on the guy and act like a girl he knows is cheating on him with the resident.
-
Fischer made his way past Smiley and headed up to the apartment. Even with the invisibility spell in place, he still used infiltration techniques, in case the spell failed. He checked to see if there were any means by which he could get a peak into the apartment, and then checked to see what type of lock was on the door.
[spoiler=Infiltration]
Infiltration 4 + Agility 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [2,1,6,1,5,4,6,1] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4151631/)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [6,1,4,5,1,3,5,6,4,3,5,5] = (6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4151636/)
[/spoiler]
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@Kuren
Through your admin privileges you try to spoof the node into thinking the intruder has already been taken care of. With some effort, you move things around, but find great resistance from the system and find yourself exactly where you started. You're either not on top of your game tonight or this is an advanced system in disguise.
As a change of pace, you turn your attention to the camera feed and find it quite easy to edit Mia's footage out. With this task done, you feel your luck turning around.
@Smiley & Pipebomb
You go to the building across the street and get to the fourth floor. This building is a little more modern than the last one and you see a simple maglock on the door to apartment 409. A window next to the door gives you a view inside. Pipebomb takes a quick look inside and sees a middle-aged Japanese woman cutting up what seems to be a big daikon radish. Looks like she's preparing her lunch for the next day, as you see a bento box half-full sitting on the counter. Just then, Smiley is about to knock on the door loudly.
-
Let's try another Spoof. Hacking 3 + Spoof 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152153/)
That looks better.
*This system is stubborn or maybe I am out of practice. *
<Our path is clear. I'm going in.> Regardless of if anyone was coming along Kuren proceeds up to the victim's apartment. First thing is to take a good look at the door for any signs of forced entry.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152155/)
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After surveying the apartment and seeing that is was only some housewife, Fischer turned to leave but noticed Smiley about to bang on the door, *Ah, frag.* Fischer reached out to grab Smiley's arm to halt him.
[spoiler=Initiative]
Reaction 3 + Intuition 4 = Pool 7
7d6.hits(5) → [5,1,6,3,5,3,1] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4151698/)
Initiative 10
[/spoiler]
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@Pipebomb
Just as you're about to stop Smiley from knocking on the door, Sandman sends you a message.
"Here's what I found. For payment, I'll ask for a favour from you later.
Yaibei, Akio Ryuu by name, lives in a dojo. He has been somewhat active on the running scene, but mostly through the dojo master. Seems the master is who you're ultimately working for, so Yaibei might be there to keep an eye on things. Stay alert.
J, real name Conrad Johnson (if you can believe it), worked for SK-P here in Tokyo before being fired recently. He has a SIN, which made it quite easy for me to track him down. As for the reason of his termination, details are a little fuzzy, but it seems it has something to do with his family. No current address, no real reputation on the streets yet.
Smiley, real name Daniel Smiling Wolf, gets around town. Quite a few people know of him, especially in the night scene. From Montana, he did his service. His military career is full of ups and downs, the downs being mostly with women and booze. Finally got the boot after killing someone in "self-defence"
Kuren, born and raised here in Japan, was also in the military. Made MP, but eventually got out and started his own private eye gig. He runs the shadows on occasion, when his legitimate business isn't going well mostly.
Mia you probably heard of before. She sings in a few places, but mostly is attached to her manager, a man called "MacTavish", a Japanese cat that poses as a Scotsman. She runs on occasion, has a mouth but always seems to please the right person at the right time.
I couldn't find anything on a Mizuki Kobayashi except that the trail splits and stops both at the NTMG (that's the Neo-Tokyo Metropolitan Government for you ignorant gaijin) and at Renraku."
@Kuren
With your second attempt, you are finally able to disarm the alarm on the node and put things back to normal, but not before the system notified some other node.
-
The info dump from Sandman got Fischer's full attention, *Drek! Am I the only SINless on this team?! Frag, frag, frag!!! One former corp and TWO former military?! Are you fraggin' kidding me?! We might as well wear neon signs that say 'Hey, come find us. It's not that hard!' And that's not enough, nooo, one of 'em turns out to be an errand boy for the Johnson! Can this drek get any worse?!* As if to teach him a lesson about tempting Fate, Fischer noticed at that very moment Smiley swing his arm to pound on the door, *FRAG!!!*
-
"AMI-kun! AMI-KUN!! Open up! I know you are in there!!" Smiley says in Japanese, pounding the door.
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@Pipebomb & Smiley
Smiley bangs on the door, just before Pipebomb has time to stop him. The noise resonates loudly, breaking the relative serenity the building was basking in.
@Pipebomb
After the loud banging, the building falls seemingly silent, but after a few moments you hear muffled sounds coming from inside the residence. From outside, you can tell someone is talking inside, but not loudly at all and not to whomever the occupants think banged on the door.
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" lets not toss the place to much, Don't want to leave a mess, also, make sure you have gloves on just in case. *If Sensei new this woman then it would be shameful to desecrate her old home. However I need to make sure that nothing was hidden here.* Yaibei will enter the room and take a look around checking the entire room a couple of times for anything that may stick out.
3 int, 3 perception 2 enhanced perception +3 actively looking +3 visual enhancement. =14
14d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152362/) He will make more than one sweep
14d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152365/)
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Fischer found it odd that the woman was speaking to someone, *I though J said she was alone. She might be on her comm, but I should check to be sure.*. He peered back into the apartment to investigate.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [2,1,5,3,3,1,4,5,3,1,4,4] = (2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152593/)
[/spoiler]
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@Yaibei & Kuren
Apartment 409, fourth to last. The door has 2 locks; a maglock and an older, mechanical one. The maglock was surely added some time after the mechanical one from the discolouration on the door.
@Pipebomb
A look back into the apartment reveals the woman on her commlink, clearly scared and panicked.
-
I'll see if I can get the first lock, you may have to handle the other."
7 agi -1 defaulting +r6 autopicker 12dice.
12d6.hits(5)=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152774/) O WOW!
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@Yaibei
You shove the autopicker into the lock and with a minimal wrist movement you hear the door unlock. Both you and Kuren look at each other, amazed by how easy it was.
Recharge a point of edge if you've spent one
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"I will see what I can do."
Kuren sets to work assaulting the maglock's node.
Hacking on the fly: Aiming for security access (assuming it would be enough for an override)
Hacking 3 + Exploit 5 = 8d6.
8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152902/)
Next pass:
8d6.hits(5)=0 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152903/)
Gonna spend Edge to reroll failures cause it's all of them. Bringing Kuren down to 1/3 Edge.
8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152912/)
Hopefully in one Combat Turn.
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*Drek, ten nuyen says that's the cops on the other end.* He tapped Smiley on the shoulder, "There's only a, now panicked, middle aged woman in there, and I'm fairly certain she just called the cops. Time to leave." With that Fischer left the apartment complex, making doubly sure to avoid any cameras as much as possible on his way out. He returned to J, "The apartment you pointed out was a bust, just some woman going about her business. Smiley, the fragging slot, started pounding on her door. Why, you ask, I have no clue. Anyhow, she got spooked, and I'm reasonably sure that she called the cops."
[spoiler=Infiltration]
Infiltration 4 + Agility 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [1,5,2,6,3,3,1,5] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4152933/)
[/spoiler]
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@Kuren
You get into the node, this time a lot smoother than the last, and quickly notice the old and antiquated state of things.
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"Well.. Drek. I can leave you invisible though, I do not think they will bring a Mage for such a disturbance so the spell is safe and i blend into the background pretty well... Smiley should get out of here though."... He thought back to his security job... "Kuren can you scrub his face from the cameras? It really dead ends searches."
-
Looking to Yaibei for a moment, "I'm in. It should only be a second."
Kuren orders the maglock to unlock granting them access.
Let me know if any further rolls are required.
Receiving the message from J he responds quickly, <Give me just a moment then I will try to address the situation. Yaibei and I are almost inside.>
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Fischer nodded at J, then realized how stupid that was, "Okay." He sent out a message to the team, <Got some info on our murder victim, apparently she had connections to both the NTMG and Renraku. It's not much, but it gives us places to dig.> He began reviewing, in detail, the information Sandman sent him about his teammates, having been too distracted by both his mental tantrum and then Smiley. One bit of the message punched him right in the gut, Kuren was former JIS military, *I can't believe it, I'm working with one of those bastards?!* A dozen different scenarios of blowing Kuren up passed though Fischer's mind. Reluctantly he had to reject them all, it would be far too suspicion if Kuren just happened to explode. Fischer would have to be patient and wait until the job was done to make a move.
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"Um.. Pipebomb, if you don't mind me saying, is something wrong?" Astrally perceiving to keep their signatures in check, he could not miss the swirling in Pipebomb's aura.
-
Smiley receives the message and takes appropriate action. Hitting the door one more time, he looked at his com and said "Ami-kun, honey lets talk about it, I know you are in there, the text sa...Oh frag, I got the wrong address, whoever is there I am so sorry, I thought my girl was here, I am leaving...Sorry..."
Con to convince the poor Daikon lady. (12d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4153008/)
Smiley then exits the building walking normally, heading in the direction of the bar Mia is at. :)
-
Fischer, since the invisibility spell was still in place, glared at J. He responded with barely contained rage, "Not a thing, what makes you ask?"
-
"Your aura is going nu-" Seeing the spike in rage he stops, "Just being friendly, never mind."
-
@Yaibei & Kuren
With a low whirr, the maglock unlocks. You open the door and step in. Once inside, a small entrance lined with shoes gives in to a narrow corridor, with two closed doors on the right and an open one on the left all you see. A single light fixture turns on and illuminates the hallway, revealing an Ukiyo-e picture hanging on the left, directly in front of the first door on the right.
(OOC: I'll divide the apartment in different rooms, so whatever rolls you want to do will only affect the room you're in.)
@Smiley
You don't hear anything from inside the apartment, but decide not to linger any longer an walk out of the building naturally and nonchalantly.
-
After shutting down J, Fischer returned to his thoughts, *Kuren, a P.I. with military connections. Great, just fragging great. I'm going to have take him out, and soon. Once I begin my crusade, he'll be in prime position to put all the pieces together. Now, how to do it? A targeted killing would be too obvious, I'm going to have to make sure he's a casualty in my first bombing. Seems like once this job's done, I'm going to have to track him for a bit.* After a plan started to form in Fischer's mind, he began to calm down. He sent a message to Sandman, <Thanks for getting all that to me so quick. As a rule, I hate owing favors since they're so ambiguous but they're the only substantial currency I got at the moment. So how many more favors would it cost me to have you dig deeper into J, Smiley and Kuren? Their former corp/military ties make me suspicious.>
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"Oi, Smiley, you ole bastard, pull up a pew an i'll get ya a beer" Mia screams across the bar as she sees smiley walk in "So anything much to talk about or are the rest of em still casing the place?" without waiting for an answer she continues on "My plan was to throw any potetial heat by being here and asking after places to crash but now that you've joined me, well, its gonna be harder to play it off... You got a plan to not leave a trail?"
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@Pipebomb
"More than what I gave you is going to cost you some real nuyen. I'd say ¥500 for the lot should do it."
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Fischer replied quickly, <Deal.> The ¥500 was ten percent of his payment for the job, but intell on Kuren was vital to his future plans.
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"What heat kitty? Neither of us are/were doing anything illegal, you were looking for a place to stay and now you are consoling a friend who you just happened to run int and whoo just got left by his dear ladyfriend Ami." Smiley grins as he silently orders a round for him and Mia.
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"Faces that dont belong, become suspects when a crime is commited. How much do you trust those guys to get in and out without setting off any alarms... especially if the psycho decides to blow something up!"
-
As the maglock relented Kuren let out a, "Yatta!"
<Maglock disabled. Beginning my investigation.>
He steps just inside the door and takes a good look around before moving any further. He scans the area with his handheld scanner, recording the scene for his records before pulling his tools from his briefcase to gather samples.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4153331/)
I assume a Chemistry Test is in order for collecting samples.
Chemistry 1 + Logic 6 = 7d6.
7d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4153332/)
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"You worry too much Mia, and you gotta let your team be professionals and act within their capabilities, its not like we could do better at this point.."
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@Kuren
Looking around, you find some fingerprints on the door handle. Mostly partials, but you do get one quality print. Besides that, it seems the entrance and the hallway are nearly kept.
-
Pleased with the retrieval of a fingerprint, Kuren moves on continuing his sweep of the apartment. He takes specific care in taking samples from the soiled dishes before moving on.
I'm gonna go ahead and roll two more Perception and Chemistry tests for the other two rooms.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=6, 20d6.hits(5)=9 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4153398/)
Chemistry 1 + Logic 6 = 7d6.
7d6.hits(5)=1, 7d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4153399/)
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"Kuren-san, take the first door on the right, I will look into the second, we will swap and do a re sweep of the others room to make sure nothing was missed." with that Yaibei walks to the second door and opens it up. He takes a good look around trying to find anything that may be useful.
Int3 perception 3 enhanced perception 2 +3 actively looking +3 vision enhancement- 14
14d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4153408/)
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@Yaibei
The second door on the right reveals a dining room/kitchen area. A dining table big enough to accommodate 4 people has a few fashion magazines neatly placed on it. The kitchen is mostly clean save for a few dishes in the sink. A small couch is placed on the far wall, a Trideo sitting across the room from it. A deliberate absence of decorations on the walls make this room feel bigger than it actually is. Looking at the sink, you see there are 2 distinct sets of dishes in it, food remains on them indicating it has been at least a few days since these dishes were left in the sink.
@Kuren
Opening the first door on the right reveals an old but clean bathroom. You do notice, however, 2 used toothbrushes.
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Kuren gives the bathroom a quick once over with the camera to capture the position of the toothbrushes before bagging them up and placing them in his briefcase. <Bathroom is clear. Two toothbrushes retrieved as evidence.> He takes a quick look under the sink and in the tub for good measure.
"I am done here Yaibei-san. Just a bathroom but I found some DNA samples."
-
"Come on Smilz, seriously! I mean what the fuck! Haven't you learned anything. Lets look at your track record with strangers..." Mia shot him a knowing glare, whilst the image of Smiley, well into his cups and spouting tales of woe, traced their way thru her brain. "You might be right, this COULD be a milk run and that lot MIGHT be pulling something outta that apartment and hell, if we really luck out theres a CHANCE, however fucking small, that we walk outta here with a couple of months rent without any heavy lifting, but thats some seriously optimistic shit right there!"
"First we've got super slueth, seems nice enough but i never trust those hacker types, i mean what kinda crazy shit could they be up to. And the whole american private eye thing he's playing, whats that a cover for hmm! Then we got captain homeless, pretending he's all normal with his st-st-stuttering. Reckon hes been burned the fuck out, drugs or BTL's most likely. The kid with the sword i think is a safe bet, I mean if your saw him on the bike, I think I could get that one wrapped nice and tight around my little finger, tho if he's one of those code of honour, self righteous mother fuckers, im gonna have to be careful with where I drag him by his short and curlies. Reminds me, better have Tav check into who that one runs for, if he has one of them damn master, apprentice, sensei, student things goin on, then i'll have to tread fuckin careful there too, so he dont flip out and kill us all... Shit! And then of course there's that literal ticking time bomb. Fuck me but if we have to have to keep that hair trigger psycho with the boom sticks around then we gotta work out a way to stop him from being wired to blow at any moment. Don't give a damn how we go about it but almost tempted to smother that one in his sleep already. And from a distance to boot or maybe just going learning me some sorta force wall spell so when he decides to pop I can keep it away from me!!"
"Look im glad you and your big dumb face turned up at that meet but there is a shit ton of cash on the table for a find me a guy run, and i'd feel ALOT better if I knew i had you with me on this one. We use em, work out who's not bat shit crazy and try to cull the rest before they get us killed or worse." Mia fell back into her seat as all that pent up energy just to drains away. "Shiiit, maybe your right tho. Hell, if we can get the crazy outta explodsinator, you know there ain't nothing I enjoy more than a little fireworks show! Whadda you say, you and me see what we can make of this bunch of shit 'ead's?"
-
@hydro
"Tav, got a favour to ask seeing as you got me into this mess. Looks like this might be settling in for longer haul then I like so do you reckon you could get some dirt on these clowns. Don't worry too much about Smiley unless you got something personal you think i wouldn't know but some ideas about
a)Who or what the bushido works for
b)Whats the go with mc boom boom and how do i get him under control. And finally
c)The other two, any things to worry about, they both have potential but I dont wanna find out to late that one of them some major issue we coulda avoided!
And if theres any jams happenin, YOU BEST let me know.
Bitch be OUT!!"
-
Having gotten a handle on the auras in the area J did what he did best and stayed on over watch in the astral, he imagined pipebomb would give him a signal if he was needed.
-
@Mia
MacTavish replies to you "Alright luv, I'll look around for you. I wouldn't want my favourite girl getting hurt after all."
-
Having cleared his first room Kuren moves to join Yaibei in the next room. Again he scans about getting a good record of how everything is situated in the room before attempting to retrieve any samples.
Want me to make new rolls or will my last ones do?
-
Smiley enjoys the rapid fire commentary of Mia. He is not really one to question people too much if he doesn't have to, preferring to listen.
"I think I am quite good with strangers, I have woken up with enough of them, you included if I remember right. Like I said, just keep it cool, yes, the paleface with the death wish is a tool, but he has got to be good with that stuff the way he hauls it around, otherwise he would already be dead." Smiley sips his drink and thinks about it for a second. "Don't write him off right away, we don't have a lot of options in this crew if we have to drop a big hurt on somebody, he can do that. So what if we never want him to talk to anyone, that's what we're here for."
"I think we are in good shape with this crew, and I got plans for J, we'll clean him up and set him right, don't worry." Smiley drains his glass and signals for another.
:) ;D 8)
-
@Kuren & Yaibei
Having finished with the bathroom, Kuren joins Yaibei in the other room. Looking around doesn't reveal much new information except that the fashion magazines are mainly focused on teen fashion, or at least what you think look like teens. Surprisingly enough, it seems the room is clean save for the dirty dishes.
-
When Kuren finally comes to the sink with the dishes he looks to Yaibei, "You didn't touch anything, correct?" Before waiting for any response he goes to work, removing several swabs from his briefcase. He then carefully rubs a different swab on any food matter remaining on the plates, the rims of any glasses, and the ends of any cutlery. After bagging each sample individually and tagging them with a number (corresponding with a short description in a text file within his case file) Kuren begins the task of closely inspecting the glasses and lifting any available fingerprints.
-
@Kuren
Looking for prints on the dishes is very hard as it seems they were roughly rinsed before being left in the sink. After a while, your search of the kitchen sink yields no usable prints.
-
"Kono yarou!" Realizing his expletive had escaped his mouth he turns to Yaibei and bows slightly, "Gomenasai. It seems they at least rinsed the dishes and dissolved any fingerprints. Hopefully the swabs will prove fruitful. I'm ready to move on if you'd like to double back to the bathroom then meet me."
Kuren makes a note in the Possible Leads file to ask the Johnson about any next of kin when we meets with him tomorrow.
He exits the room and heads across the hall and opens the unexplored door. Kuren holds up his scanner recording the room before venturing forth.
-
" Kuren-san, no not really. hm. I will check the other side. I fear that I may have overlooked the possibility someone could be here. Sensei would scold me... why are you playing with the old food? nevermind I'll move the other room. Yaibei will try to move into the other room quietly.
may be to late but just in case.
7 agi+4 skill +2 improved ability +1 ninjutsu +2 specilization=16
16d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4154257/)
perception .....wow... I am going to wish I had these rolls later... 14d6.hits(5)=9 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4154258/) 9/14... wat
-
@Yaibei
The door on the left reveals a tatami room. Definitely the bedroom, the room has a big drawer siting on the back wall, with a closet on the left and glass doors giving on a balcony on the right. The absence of any beds tells you that Ms. Kobayashi probably slept on a futon, which would be tucked away in the closet during the day. The balcony has a view of another apartment building, nothing worth writing home.
A search of the closet reveals 2 futons and 2 pillows in the closet.
The drawer reveals a small photo album, with a picture of an older woman and a younger girl together. Behind the picture is a small note saying "Mizuki and Makoto, Yokohama, '67".
-
Kuren searches through every drawer recording as he goes, taking special care to record every photo in the album and runs it through the facial recognition software and a search of the new name. He then inspects the pillows for any hairs or fibers.
Using vision mag on the pillows.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4154759/)
Chemistry 1 + Logic 6 = 7d6
7d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4154762/)
-
"Your damn right Tav, ;D XOXO!"
"Alright Smilez" Mia lays it on thick and throws Smiley a wink "Time to blow this facist popsicle stand? Ain't got a call in from the eyes, so im assuming those others ain't in any trouble but i gotta hope the're done with that place"
-
@Smiley
Between drinks and flirting with Mia, you receive a message from Aki.
"Smiley-kun, this file was really hard to get but I called in a few favours and got my hands on it. It says Kobayashi-san died of natural causes, those being heart failure. It says the body will be burned tomorrow morning, but I wasn't able to find where.
Here's the interesting bit though: my normal request made through the system was refused by Renraku. Seems she was working there but was not part of the arcology. Be careful Smiley-kun, you still owe me a few dates for this."
-
With J doing his mage vision thing, Fischer figured it would best if he cleared out until he collected himself. He turned to J and spoke as calmly as he could, "I'm going to get a quick bite to eat while we're wait on the two upstairs, so you can drop the spell. Let me know if any cops come around looking for Smiley, if your spell failed they'll be looking for me too. With that he turned down the alley and headed in a random direction, *Frag, J's getting suspicious of me. I probably have to take him out too. He'll be harder to track than Kuren. Kuren has that P.I. business I can find him at, but the homeless guy... Perhaps once the job's done I should offer him a ride to wherever it is he calls "home." As he walked, Fischer did keep an eye out for someplace to get some food. The excuse had been pretense to leave, but now that he thought about it, he was hungry. He kept checking his commlink, seeing if Sandman had gotten back to him. He knew it was stupid, but Fischer was getting ancy waiting for the intel on Kuren.
-
@Kuren
Your search of the pillows reveals some hair samples on one of them, but the other pillow looks like it was either washed recently or simply not used.
-
Kuren bags up the hair sample and notes it in his log. <One hair sample retrieved. The other pillow appears unused.>
He patiently waits while Yaibei double checks the rooms behind him. "Once you are done I believe our business here is done. I need to analyze these samples before our meeting tomorrow." Then Kuren sends out a message to the team over the secure chat. <Almost done here. I managed to collect several good samples which should help. It's fairly obvious our victim was not alone here. Hopefully the samples will help reveal the identity of the other occupant.
Attn Smiley & Mia: Do you think trying to inteinterview the neighbors would be worth the time? Not now of course but it could provide insight assuming they cooperate and don't alert the authorities.>
-
"Let me pull out the dress ups and shove together a shiny metrocop 'guise and I can grill those mother lickers over hot coals. But im no wasting time here, so see if you cant dig up any data trails or vid feeds of the dead chicka hanging out with the other resi's, kk!"
-
A look of confusion crosses Kuren's face as Mia's message comes, *I don't think any grilling is necessary. The poor folks would need therapy after encountering Mia. Probably best I do as she suggests. *
He fires back a quick <Affirmative.> before accessing the stores of past camera recordings. He'd make a copy of the video files to thoroughly examine later.
Let me know if you want more rolls HydrkRaven.
-
Just as you're sending messages to one another, you hear siren sounds in the distance. A few seconds of quiet listening tell you that they are coming in your direction, and there are at least a few cars.
-
On the team comms Smiley takes charge again. "Okay folks, time to get scarce. Pipe, can you PLEASE transport Kumen out of the area, J, Yaibei, you know where our bikes are. Everybody scatter, we'll meet back at the noodle shop in an hour."
Smiley blows Mia a kiss and heads for where he stowed his bike.
-
"That's our que Yaibei-san." Kuren closes the doors and exits the apartment, reengaging the locks before they leave. As they head back towards the street he replies to the others.
<I can find transportation if needed. There should be a subway station not far away. I understand if Pipe is discriminate when it comes to passengers.>
-
"hai, Don't worry about me, hiding is a specialty of mine" Akio will enter the nearest alley way and remove his out layer of normal clothes so his camo suit can take effect. Its pitch black like a ninja outfit at night, gray/white/black mix match during the day and continue to climb jump and jog his way away from the area.
16dice for infiltration16d6.hits(5)=8 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4155096/).
He makes sure to avoid anything cop related or remotely looking.
-
Fischer's initial instinct was to flatly refuse, but then realized that this might be a good opportunity to gather information on his intended target, <Fine. Kuren, meet me at the intersection three blocks to the north of the apartment building.> Once Fischer caught sight of Kuren, he had to resist every instinct telling him to draw his gun and put two rounds in the bastard's face. While staring death rays at the detective from behind his sunglasses, Fischer spoke briefly, least his hatred spill into his voice, "My car's a few blocks away. Follow me." With that Fischer lead Kuren on a highly indirect path back to his car, doing all his could on the way to avoid cameras and cops.
[spoiler=Infiltration]
Infiltration 4 + Agility 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [1,2,6,3,4,1,5,3] = (2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4155172/)
[/spoiler]
-
Kuren let's out a long sigh as he recieves Pipebomb's message. *I suppose I should at this point it would be rude to not accept.* He responds <Affirmative, on my way now.>
He casually strolls to the designated intersection, follows Pipebomb to his car and climbs in placing his briefcase in his lap up against his chest. "Ari..." he pauses slightly before continuing in English. "Thank you for the ride. I believe we have found some good clues but I must analyze them to be sure."
-
Fischer drove in a random direction away from the apartment and every so often made a random turn, but still headed vaguely in the direction of the noodle shop. He scoffed at Kuren's English, "I'm completely fluent in Japanese, you don't have to strain yourself. How long with your analysis take?"
((OOC: I'm assuming that with English at Rank 2, Kumen is far less articulate than what your post states.))
-
J drops the spell on Pipebomb, looking after him worriedly as he leaves. He didn't know whether to be scared or... terrified of the man. Meeting Smiley back at his bike, "Would you like me to cast a physical mask over you? In case Kuren didn't get round to scrubbing your face from that camera yet? At the very least i had long enough to scrub our auras from the area."
-
"Why is everyone being so fraggin' paranoid? I didn't do anything illegal, most I got to worry about is a sitdown with some cop, and I can handle that. All this cover your track stuff is great when we gotta hit something important, but it is just a red flag for someone at this point to give us a closer look." Smiley realizes he is being a little harsh and changes the subject "By the way, speaking of masks, when this is done I am gonna take you to meet a friend of mine, if we are gonna run together we need to get you cleaned up. All that magic may work for the most part, but it is a bit of a shock when the illusion comes down. The plus side of letting her square you away is that she is a hottie and we are all gonna go party afterwards, you with her and me with her friend."
-
"Wow, thanks. Sounds good to me, I don't get to party much nowadays."
-
Returning to his native language Kuren responds, "Arigato Pipebomb-san. I apologize I do not use English often. The analysis will probably take a couple of hours, possibly a little longer. I hope to have the results by morning. How did your end go?"
He tries to keep his cool but can't stop himself form drumming his fingers across his briefcase.
-
Fischer grunted with annoyance, "Just fine, until Smiley got the cops called on us that is." It only took a few moments for Kuren drumming his fingers to get aggravating, "Oh, by the way, be careful not to jostle around too much. The grenades under your seat are perfectly safe on their own, but the detonators can be a bit sensitive. And with twenty kilos of explosives in the trunk, we don't want to risk a chain reaction."
-
Mia does her usual, a quick change and sneaking out the bathroom window (You never know who you don't want to be following you home like a lost puppy. Seriously drooling guys are the worst!!). But as she made her way to her bike she is unpleasantly surprised to see a total lack of Yaibei
"What the fuck!! Where is that little shit!!" She took a moment to consider her options, and whilst a little tousle with the Metro could be fun... She jumps on her scorpion and takes off towards home. "I hope the runt manages to make it out alright, I was growin fond of that kid"
Once home Mia sets about grabbing some of her regular running gear, most of which she had left behind in the rush to get to the meet. Donning her holo wear would be helpful if she did have to go back and "play Metro" ang given her current frame of mind on how sour things might go... well it didn't hurt to have a few things up her sleves. Locked and loaded, she headed back to the noodle joint.
-
After that I believe a Composure Test is in order, as Kuren is already sketched out and nervous.
Willpower 3 + Charisma 4 = 7d6.
7d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4155697/)
That doesn't look good. Kuren is obviously shaken.
Judge Intentions to see how seriously Kuren would take his comment about the explosives rigged in the car.
Intuition 5 + Charisma 4 = 9d6
9d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4155704/)
Kuren immediately stops his drumming after Pipe's comment and tries to remain motionless for the rest of the ride. *By the spirits let this be a short trip!*
-
Fischer enjoyed watching Kuren freak out. While a possibility, Fischer had overstated the probability of them blowing up, not that he was going to tell Kuren that. Watching the former military man fear for his life brought back a lot of old memories. One in particular stood out, he remember when he was six watching a Jap Marine squirm in fear after stepping on a pressure plate bomb. Oddly, the marine looked kinda like Kuren, but then again Fischer thought all the Japs looked similar. His parents started picking off the other marines in the squad. The bastard standing on the bomb decided to make a run for it after the bullets started flying. The idiot made it half a step before the explosion engulfed him. After indulging a little trip down memory lane, Fischer returned to the task at hand, "So, is that get up of yours just a schtick, or are you actually a P.I.?"
-
OOC: Now it's time to lie. ;)
"Well I figure if I wear this outfit for meets that it leaves few questions about my skill set. Nothing says 'I'm an investigator' like the trech coat and hat combination."
Kuren has been in his fair share of interrogations but he's used to being the one asking the questions. He calms himself and tries to turn the conversation his way.
"What about you Pipebomb-san? You're outfit is less than subtle especially with explosives rattling about in your pockets. "
-
Fischer shrugged, "I'm a caucasian gaijin, I'm always going to stand out. I'm also a cautious person, a meet with an unknown Johnson and unknown runners deserves a few precautions. And drop the san bit Kuren, I may be fluent in your language, but I have no love for insincere politeness and empty honorifics." Fischer was taking a highly circuitous route back to the noodle shop, partially out of caution, but mainly to give him time to grill Kuren, *Seems neither of us are inclined to answer each other's questions. To be expected, but it'd be nice if this squint eye made things easy. The easier he makes things are for me, the easier I'll make his death.* As made yet another random turn, "So tell me, why does an investigator become a runner and not a cop?"
-
*Of course you have no taste for honorifics, that would require an iota of honor.*
Kuren strokes his chin in a pondering look, "Well the Met and I do not see eye to eye on a few things. Besides the pay is better here, infrequent though it may be. I guess I just prefer to work by my own procedures."
-
Fischer found Kuren's comment odd, independant types weren't ones to join the military. He decided to needle Kuren a bit to see how he reacted, "So what you're saying is that you're too stubborn for a...regimented lifestyle? And here I thought all you Japs understood was conformity and rigid adherence to hierarchy."
-
"No, gomen, I may have misspoken. I have no qualms with a regimented lifestyle. However I prefer to set the procedures, I find it more efficient that way. Surely you can appreciate living by your own rules. If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to the JIS? You do not seem overly fond of the culture."
In an odd way Kuren was actually beginning to enjoy bantering with Pipebomb but the thought of a grisly explosive death was never far from his mind.
Looking around trying to comprehend thier surroundings he asks, "Are we lost?"
-
As Yaibei was making his way back towards the shop after he gets out of the immediate area he puts his robes back on to cover the camo suit in a dark empty corner away from and cameras. Then makes his way back in a semi quick route to the shop. <on my way>
-
Fischer noted Kuren's reaction, *Little to no reaction, but that isn't all that surprising. You practically have to blow these people up to get them to drop their facade of politeness.* H shrugged at Kuren's question, "I'm fluent in the language and it's one of the last places people would look for me." He backtracked for a few blocks, "I'm not lost in the slightest, just obfuscating our trail. You can never be too careful, especially when the cops might be looking for you. So where'd you learn your skill set?"
-
"Oh I see, very clever. I had not been paying attention to your route, a side effect of too many taxi rides I suppose. As for my skill set that's a long story I would rather not discuss at length. The short answer is I have always had a fascination with detective fiction."
Kuren pulls a book from his trench coat pocket and holds it up, "Ever since I was a child I have emulated the detectives and developed the skills, and you. How does one get in to the exciting world of high explosives?"
*Hopefully that was enough to make hime drop the issue. I have to give him credit he's clever. I'm not sure if that's good or just deadly.*
-
*Being a private eye, I figured he'd be a little more opaque than simply being vague and deflecting the question back at me. I guess he won't be an interesting target after all.* Fischer figured he wasn't going to get much more out of the back and forth banter, and began taking a more direct route to the noodle shop, "You can find any kind of information on the Matrix, or in the Shadows, if you look in the right places."
-
"I am fully aware of many ways to find information. I meant more specifically how did you get started or should I save my breath?"
*He must really take me for a fool. The answers I seek never stay hidden long. I just hope it doesn't interrupt the investigation when he's incarcerated for suspected terrorist activity. *
-
Images of his parents flashed through Fischer's mind, but he only shrugged once again, "Kind of just fell into it really. Being SINless, you have to get creative with how you make a living. Skills with small talent pools and high demand make you good money. So I got my hands on a copy of The Neo-Anarchist's Cookbook, and the rest, as they say, is history."
-
When they arrived back at the noodle shop J was glad to not have to worry about the Mets asking to see his SIN, he might not be a Criminal SINner but he didn't want to be treated as a vagrant. He was working, in his own way.
"Ah Smiley.. do you er... know much about guns?"
-
Kuren nods but doesn't break the silence left after Pipebomb's response. He sits quietly and watches the pass as they drive.
-
"I was trained to use them, but I never really took to it. I prefer to work with my hands. Why do you ask?" Smiley eases off the bike and gives a stretch, perfectly casual about the situation. He goes into the shop and orders, then claims a table large enough for the group.
-
"Well combat magic isn't really my thing and this sword is mostly for show, it helps to look armed when you're living rough, awakened or not... an I never had my chance to get trained in firearms. You pointing out my over cautiousness made me realize I feel particularly unsafe running, now that the adrenaline died down... um not that anything has got me worried or anything."
Taking his seat next to Smiley he thought back to the anger he saw in pipebombs soul and shuddered involuntarily.
-
You all start trickling to the noodle shop in groups. The last person to arrive, Yaibei, gets there around 12:40. You soon realize that the last few patrons have left to catch their last train, but it's still too early to find the night crowd: the one that stays out until dawn, getting noodles after a long night of drinking and socializing.
-
"Hoi Yaibei-san, took you a while... So where do we go to next? I heard mention of her living with someone while i was dipping in and out of my meat?"
-
"A contact of mine did a bit of digging on the victim. He couldn't find anything substantial, but did say that her trail splits between and ends at both the Metropolitan Government and Renraku. It isn't much but it gives us something to look into."
-
Kuren holds up his briefcase with a big smile, *Great success! "
Over the secure connection he sends the team a full list of the prints and samples he was able to retrieve. "I will have to run tests to analyze it but I'm optimistic. I'll have the results by morning. What were you all able to discover? "
-
"yo, sorry about that. Renarku? he spits when he says the name"I am sure renraku is behind this. I should have guessed from the start.
-
Fischer tilted his head, *So you and your master have beef with them, eh? For a ninja, you don't hold your cards close enough to your chest.* He stared at the ork, "And why should you've guessed that from the start? You have something to share with the rest of the class?"
-
"they have that kind of reputation, any dealings with them are bound to be bad. You haven't heard about there Rep? Of course, you aren't a native so you may not know everything about them." he pauses for a second and crosses his arms. "either way I suggest looking that way first the only other potential lead we got is what Kuren-san has there."
-
"If she was staying with someone that sounds like a better.. and safer lead than possibly pissing off a megacorp."
-
Fischer rolled his eyes at J, "We're runners J, pissing off megas is what we do for a living. Come to terms with that, or get out of the Shadows." He turned back to Yaibei, "All megas have that kind of reputation, but that still doesn't explain why you want to jump all over Renraku in particular. If I had mentioned Shiawase or Mitsuhama, something tells me you wouldn't have reacted the same way. And we do have another lead, the Metropolitan Government"
-
"I just meant straight..away... never mind, sorry" J ceased the line of conversation when Pipebomb continued to aim his response at Kuren.
-
"true while most do, just stay around here a bit and you'll known that Ren takes the cake. Honestly if it was a different corp I would still bet nuyen that the Corp would have the dirtiest hands or someone in it at least. Also I would recommend moving around with less... firepower than what I've seen you with. That much may be difficult to explain if you ever get spotted. J you are right though. Letting Kuren-san find out what he can before doing anything may be best. Still bet it will lead to Ren some way or other.
-
"l have contacts pointing towards Renraku as well, but I also agree that first off we try and track down anyone else in that was in that apartment. At the very least we can talk to them and try to figure out what she has been doing recently and maybe a location to take a look at specifically." Smiley takes a bite of his noodles and swallows before continuing, "Its not like we can walk into their lobby and start asking questions anyway. Pipebomb chill out, he has a mad on for one corp in particular, why is that worthy of the third degree? Like it or not, we are on this job together." Looking at Kumen he tries to get them back on track, "While you are examining your samples, can you run down what you can on BOTH names our dead girl went by? Might give us something to work with."
-
Kuren holds up a hand in protest, "Please, let us not jump to any conclusions. The evidence will tell it's story it is best we not skew the truth with assumptions. I will run the tests and look into this possible Renraku or Government connections. After I meet with our client in the morning to retrieve the CommLink we can meet up and discuss my findings."
Responding to Smiley, "Of course I will find what I can on the two names."
-
Fischer signed annoyed, *They don't take simple precautions for a meeting with a bunch of unknown people, and I'm the crazy one.* He opened up his jacket to reassure everyone that he was no longer wired to blow, "Oh relax, those were only a precaution at a meet with an unknown number of unknown people. I disarmed them after we all left here last time." He looked over at Smiley, "He wants to peg Renraku as the culprit after only hearing the name. She's connected to the Corp in someway sure, but then it makes equal or more sense that a rival had her killed. He wants to go down a rabbit hole blindly, and I won't follow."
-
"If um, are we waiting till morning to continue or does anyone have any leads we can follow tonight?"
-
Nothing substantial as of yet it seems. way I see it is we gotta wait until we get the information on the evidence that Kuren-san gathered.
-
"But Renraku wouldn't cover another corp making a hit like this, they would use it. Something else, and this a bit more timely and pressing, my contacts say she is being cremated in the morning, if there is evidence of something beyond natural causes, it is about to go up in flames. Maybe we should get the body ourselves and figure things out? Problem is my contact doesn't know where." Smiley adds calmly.
-
"Kuren-san... do you have anything from the apartment you could spare? I may be able to use it in a summoning ritual, possibly to find the body."
-
Kuren nods toward Yaibei the responds to J, "Yes I will need a few hours before I have any real information. Once morning comes I can get in touch with my contacts and pick their brains on the results, then compile all the information to present to the team, as I said."
He ponders J's question for a moment, "Umm I suppose I could spare a strand of hair if it would aid in your side of the investigation."
-
"Thank you, preferably one with a root, Spirits will want to see a complete "Piece" of a person."
-
"That might not be necessarily true Smiley. I'm sure you know how these people are with their saving face drek, so that could be it. She's also connected to both the mega and the city government. She must be involved in some heavy stuff, so the cover up may be to protect whatever that is." A light bulb went off in Fischer's mind. He turned to Kuren, "I don't know anything about forensics, but I'm pretty handy with a chemistry set if you need a lab assistant."
-
"I appreciate the offer but it's quite alright. Really I just need to get the equipment started and they will just take time Thank you tthough."
-
The lightbulb started to flicker. Fischer shrugged, "Alright, if you're sure. It's just that we're already asking you to handle almost all of the data gathering. I'd hate for anything to get overlooked because you were spread too thin."
-
"Before you dive into the lab, how about checking for crematoriums on the matrix with Renraku connections?"
Adding to Pipebomb "If we need to break in somewhere, we might need something blown up. You are with the rest of us."
-
Fischer leered at Smiley, "You don't get to tell me what to do, besides I thought we all just agreed that we can't really do anything until Kuren gets all of his data."
-
"If we wait for him to run his tests, we are gonna have nothing but ashes to analyze, I said she is getting cremated in the morning, we will need to move as soon as J finds something. You might have heard but you were busy being a bigot and picking fights with your teammates." Smiley speaks tonelessly, concentrating on his noodles.
-
Fischer sneered, "Right, like you don't think of me as a pinkskin, and they don't hiss the word gaijin."
-
*really shouldn't pester the ticking time bomb.... Gah*" unless the spirit can find the body before morning there is nothing we can do." He gives a sigh and shakes his head at the situation.
-
"Watch yourself kemo sabe, I can call you a lot worse than that, don't put you predjudice on me. Being descriptive is different from being dismissive." Smiley continues to speak calmly.
-
After taking the hair J looked quite content, finally he could prove himself. Then, at the word Pinkskin he tensed, J took a breath and stood up, gave Pipebomb a slap to the back of the head, the intent of "Shut up, you're wasting time" was nonverbal. He headed towards the door, only stopping briefly to turn and tap the sealed bag with the hair, showing confidence for the first time that night. "You coming or what?" He hoped he'd done his Dad proud with that slap.
-
"Ha, looks like little Jojo just got his first big boy hair" Mia throws a a cheeky grin and a wink to the team "Alright man pants, let's do this shit! You want a back singer?"
-
"It never hurts, and i think your vocals are better than mine."
-
Fischer didn't react for a moment, *Did that fraggin' Nip just...? I didn't think Stutters had it in him. Nice to see he does has a backbone, but wrong time to prove it.* Fischer got up, advanced on J, and took a swing at him.
[spoiler=Initiative]
Reaction 3 + Intuition 4 = Pool 7
7d6.hits(5) → [5,2,3,4,4,6,4] = (2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157534/)
Initiative = 9
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Unarmed Combat]
Unarmed Combat 0 + Agility 4 - Defaulting 1 = Pool 3
3d6.hits(5) → [4,3,3] = (0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157532/)
[/spoiler]
-
Smiley moves when Pipebomb gets up and does his best to lock him up without hurting him. Preferably before he can swing.
Init, then attack to lock up (7d6.hits(5)=2, 11d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157554/) Initiative is 9
'
-
J was actually surprised when the swing missed, having slid passed his head as he tried to respond to Mia. Unfortunately he didn't expect Pipebomb to be satisfied with bad luck and retaliated in the only way he could, hopefully enough to discourage the angry demoman. He kept the power low, he wasn't good at controlling combat spells and he didn't want it to light the place up, just a small bolt, it might not even work on the man, he just needed to remind him he wasn't defenseless.
He concentrated on the anger he had seen in Pipebomb, built power inside himself and around himself, just enough, and pushed it into the aura of anger in front of him.
Smiley was getting up to help bu he felt he needed to deal with this himself.
7d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157545/) INI 11 1IP
F2 Stunbolt DV1 (10d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157549/) Using 2 net hits its got a damage of 4S Max and its DV goes up to 3
10d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157555/) Which I resist
-
"Stop, if you two are going to fight you should do it properly, no sneak attacks and no weapons or the like just fists, either subdual or knockout. Of course the loser is expected to hold no grudge." *this was how we settled things back at the clan when it came to blows. of course we were allowed practice weapons if we wished but there aren't any here.. "It would be best to get this out of your self as if you allow it to sit and fester it will only grow worse." *which with this guy... would be extremely dangerous.*
This would most likely be after the punch
-
The spell hit Fischer, but did nothing more than make him angrier, "Nice light show, but you'll have to do better than that you limp dick piece of drek!" At that point, Smiley had Fischer in a full nelson. Fischer tried to break free, but melee combat wasn't his forte and all he could do was struggle ineffectually.
[spoiler=Resist Stunbolt]
Willpower 4 = Pool 4
4d6.hits(4) → [6,3,2,6] = (2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157590/)
J 2 v. Pipebomb 2
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Resist Subdual]
Unarmed Combat 0 + Agility 4 - Default 1 = Pool 3
3d6.hits(5) → [3,2,3] = (0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157604/)
Smiley 3 v. Pipebomb 0
[/spoiler]
-
"Stupid ass motha fucka's?" but even as those somewhat confused words spilled from her mouth, there was a glint in her eye and wry twist on her lips. In a heart beat, Mia was mixing across some classic speed metal to replace the power ballad in her ears and began to twist her mojo thru the tattooed fu dog wreathed in cherry blossom, that rested upon her hip. When the shit hit the fan, she had every intention of riding that wave!!
(OOC. Mia is casting improved reflexes F3 thru her sustaining focus.
Spellcasting check 14d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157632/)
Drain Check 12d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157638/) against DV of 3 so all good
-
When J fired his stunbolt, the noodle shop owner instantly ducked behind his stall. "No fighting or I call the police" says a small voice from behind the counter.
-
At Yaibei's instance and the shop owner's threat, Pipebomb slumped in Smiley's grip. A wolfish sneer spread across his face and a dangerous edge entered his voice, "All right J, let's take this outside."
-
Kuren stands dumbfounded as the fight unfolded before him. *Really!? We were so close from walking away from this.* After the shopkeeper's threat he walks out of the door, heading for the nearest subway without so much as a word to anyone.
Once Kuren is far enough way that he believes he'll be outside of any blast radius he furiously composes messages to his old partner and Dt. Yurameshi. He would have called but it being so late he'd hate to wake them.
To Saito:
Good evening Saito-kun. I apologize for messaging you so late but it is rather urgent. I need any information you can provide on a certain individual who refers to himself as 'Pipebomb', subtle right? I observed him for some time and I fear he may be planning a terrorist attack. When I saw him in a nightclub I swear I heard dynamite rolling about in his pockets and he has the look of a dangerous man. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. If you find that he is a national security threat then of course I will turn over all my findings.
Thank you my friend. If I make it through the week we should meet for sake.
--------------------------------------------
To Dt. Yurameshi:
Good evening detective. I could use your help on a case. I need the rap sheet on a gaijin who calls himself 'Pipebomb'. An address would also be incredibly helpful. Thank you in advance detective I'm sure you are very busy but I believe this man could be highly dangerous.
Attached to the bottom of each message is the picture Kuren captured of Pipebomb and a short physical description.
-
"If you want to continue sure. But that was the weakest spell I have I just threw at you. By how much did you shrug it off huh? Are you sure you want to try again?" J bows to the shop owner, speaking in Japanese I am deeply sorry, I shall be leaving momentarily/color]
J casts increase reflexes on himself, through his sustaining focus. Rolls once I'm at my computer.
F3 Increase Reflexes (11d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157940/)
DV3 Drain Resist (10d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4157944/)
-
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Smiley said, raising his voice, "I thought you two were professionals, this is ganger bullcrap. J, apologize to the man, that was disrespectful to him , to you and embarassing to the rest of us. We don't have time f this, we need to find the girl." Smiley glared at J, demanding he end this.
-
"Ohh, Yesss..." Mia's eyes rolled back into her head as the waves of sensation broke over her. It was like every synapse was firing at once, every corded strand of muscle vibrating like a plucked string and it felt so right!
A slight wimper spills past her lips as she manages to shake herself lucid "huhuh... h'Ok Boys. Like the kid said, we'll step it out side, go find as secluded alley, let the lads have at and first one out cold buys the first round. Then i spose we split up, one lot to sort out the evidence we have and the rest to see if we cant make a date with a stiff" ;D
"Or we could hold off on this little tousle, send boomtube with trenchcoat to sort out there chemical shenaningans, and we'll make tracks into finding tall dark and pulse-less and try to russle up another lead or two. Whadda ya say?"
"Wow, who'da thunk these cats could get so interesting. the twitchy kids gone and grown some stones and the psycho just makes me want to laugh when he gets his rage on. Hope this gives us time to work out which of the two will be funnest to runnest... run with... wait....what?? Did smiley say something??" As so often does, Mia's spell cause her internal monlouges to get a bit wierd and her sense of timing...
-
"-I- disrespected him? Embarrassed all of you!? You're holding me at fault when he was the one... Fine. I had you wrong smiley. You're just like those megacorp bastards, blaming who you think it's easier to. Pipebomb, maybe I overreacted, obviously its perfectly fine to disrespect the nation you're in if people are scared of you. The Mega's taught me that too.
If I turn anything up you'll hear from me"
This situation played out far too much like the entire reason he was homeless in the first place. Using the speed of his spell he left and returned to the streets.
If anyone but Mia tries to follow I'd request a thematic invisibility but I'll roll if you must make me hydro . Summoning rolls to happen when I'm at my computer
Once alone J lays the hair on top of a pile of twigs and leaves and drops his spells. "Dearest spirits of the animals around us, I need to call upon your superior abilities. Please help us find this women so she may be given the ending to her story that she deserves."
Summoning a Force 5 spirit of beast, using my power focus and after dropping my increased reflexes. Search Power (12d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4158412/)
Spirits resist (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4158421/) 2 services, first is to track down the womens body and lead me there as soon as possible.
drain resist (10d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4158424/)
-
After carrying Pipebomb outside, still in the full nelson, Smiley spins him around and sits him down hard on whatever is closest.
"We are working together, HE was trying to accomplish our mission as best he could and move us forward towards our goal, while YOU were trying to pick a fight. Now we need you, there is not a lot of real firepower on the team and I will bet before it is done we will need something to explode, but this petty sniping and crap is done." Smiley makes sure that Yaibei knows he is included in this last bit of scolding, "Until we get paid by the Johnson you don't have to like anyone else on the team, but you will be a professional, or I better be the first person you decide to deal with. Once the job is done, do whatever you want." The Amerind brings the full force of his charisma and magic to bear on his words, so they know he is dead serious....then completely turns the page.
"Since we are on the sidelines for little while anyway I am gonna get a beer, either of you want one? S'on me." He turns his back and walks in the direction of the nearest place serving alcohol.
-
*letting this simmer will only boil the pot over later...*"Anyway, I don't drink when on a mission. Is there a reason you seem to be in such a foul mood? other than being gently slapped on the back of the head of course. Has something upset you before tonight? I was always told that meditation can help, though in truth I prefer to work it off by doing something, anyway, I am going to have some water and try to meditate for a bit until we decide our next course." Yaibei will wait for Pipe-bomb to respond. If after a few seconds there is none forthcoming he will find a seat and rest.
-
"Yeah, I don't drink once I'm on the clock either. Explosives and liquor aren't great things to combine. Besides, if I'm the heavy hitter of this merry band of misfits, I should do a bit of a supply run." Fischer pointedly ignored Yaibei's questions and walked off. He went to the nearest convenience store and bought a pack of smokes, a zippo, and some rags. After taking his purchases back to his car, he then went to different liquor stores and, in total, bought a half dozen bottles of cheap, bottom shelf vodka. Once he was back at his car, Fischer prepped molotov cocktails.
-
"Hoi, wait up J" Mia calls as she jogs to keep up "That sure coulda gone better, aye. Look i can give you a ride wherever your goin and hand if ya want? Wadda ya say, just gotta nip back and grab my bike s'all."
-
"All right.. I won't say no to an extra shaman when dealing with spirits."
The summoning went okay so i wont bother adding in the teamwork dice unless anyone can really think of a reason to bother except one or so more tasks.
-
After confirming that J was "ok..." Mia ran back to the noodle shop and her bike dropping her spell as she went. She knew the crash was gonna be bad but it was always worse the longer she held it and this was the time to be thinking clearly not pinging. Arriving in time to see the last of the flare up between the rest of the team she stepped to intercept smiley. Grabbing him by the jacket she pulled him in close to whisper in his ear "Smilez,i told you this shit was bad man. This is the crap that get people killed, people like you and me, not useless corp sec or wage slaves. I'm gonna follow this lead on the body with J but i think you really pushed his buttons somehow. Not your fault but maybe stay clear for now, i should be able to keep the kid outta too much trouble. Just do what you need to do and maybe see if you can't work out how to bring this lot back together before it costs us the job... or our lives!"
Mia let Smiley go with a pat on the back and an encouraging smile. She rushed to her bike and took of after J, feeling the weight of the world bearing down on her as the down from her spell started to reach its crescendo. "Damn if don't keep throwing myself into this stupid shit. Maybe one day the music will be enough..."
-
Riding around in the general direction J took off, Mia finally manges to make him out hunkered down in one of the back streets. Giving the place a quick once over, she waits on her bike, keeping an eye on J as he works his mojo. He seemed very intent, the bumbling and stumbling gone from his demeanor, a much harder and in a way bitter look in his face. With confidence he called out into the realms beyond, commanding a kami into his presence and dealing with it short and sharp liek scapel. Perhaps, despite his look, this was no burned out mojo slinger. This man seemed... dangerous. What was it that made him tick, and why oh why, had had he seemed so broken...
-
@J
You search inside of yourself, trying to locate a spirit in the Astral. Sifting through the different energies, you locate a signature that might be able to help find what you're looking for. Your calls catch the beast's attention, eventually coming forth. A pure white crane appears before you, contemplating your mortal shell. "What would you ask of me?" says the spirit, its communication with you done telepathically.
-
As Mia watches J converse with his kami, she lets out a sigh, and begins to call out to the metaplanes for an ally of her own. With the image of the woman firmly in her head, and the token of her physical form nearby, she summoned forth a kami of man.
-
"Thank you for heeding my call for assistance. I have been charged with finding the mortal shell this fragment belongs to, please use your superior abilities to find them before the shell is destroyed and lead me there. She has been taken from this coil before her time and I am looking for the truth behind a veil."
J keeps his posture low, not making eye contact until the Kami has decided to help, bowing as if to a superior.
-
@Mia
With J's efforts looking fruitful, you set on your own to find a spirit to help. Reaching out to the kami world you look for something more in tune with metahumans. After a brief moment you locate a spirit that matches what you were looking for. Calling out to it, the spirit responds to you, almost as if willing to come forth. The task is met with very little resistance, something that doesn't happen often when dealing with things on the Astral. The spirit takes form in front of you, waiting for your request. "Yes, young one, what is it you seek?"
@J
The crane looks at the hair you presented to it, and almost instantly says "This person has already departed your world. Do you still want me to locate their remains?"
-
"Your wisdom on this matter was expected, yes it is her remains that I seek. They are to be destroyed by sunrise and I wish to commune with her spirit before then."
-
@J
The crane turns its head around a few times, visibly looking for something. Not 10 seconds later, it says "I have found her, she's not so far. Come with me and I'll take you to her."
-
"Thank you, do you mind if we move on this plane? I wish to bring my shell with me." J Finally made eye contact to acknowledge his answer.
-
@J
"You can bring your shell, I'll guide you" says the crane and points towards the end of the alley. "That way."
-
"Thank you Kamisama, you honor me"
J will follow the spirits directions until he either reaches the body or is blocked from continuing. ( this includes it turning out to be too far away to reach on foot by sun up)
-
@J
You set off, guided by the spirit you summoned. The crane follows you, but it doesn't seem to be moving. Rather, it appears the whole world around it is moving. After about 45 minutes (by this time 1:20), you get to a building, the street lights the only source of illumination. The building is obviously closed for the day, but you can make out in the darkness that it is a funeral home. "Strange location for a funeral home" you think to yourself, but then again nothing really surprises you in Neo-Tokyo.
-
Still following the spirit he lets his perception slip into the astral as they approach from afar, checking for astral security, or worse, wild spirits attracted to an unprotected building of loss and death.
Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4160437/)
-
@J
Looking in the nether world, you see some wards surrounding the building, probably there to protect the deceased or at the very least to respect their privacy.
-
"Thank you dear Kami, this is close enough. We will need to pass through another practitioners astral wall to proceed and I do not want to wake them this late in the day."
J sends a message to the rest of the team with the address, that the placement is strange and could be relevant and that it is warded, entry on the astral would alert a security mage or spirit to an intruder.
Local Area Knowledge skill for the funeral home and its strange location. (6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4160448/)
-
@J
You know that this neighbourhood is mostly corp-controlled although you don't know which one has influence on this particular building.
-
Quick follow up message to confirm the area is under a corporate jurisdiction and ask if anyone knows which. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was Renraku"
-
Fischer placed the molotovs in the trunk and then headed to the address. Upon receiving J's second message, he added several more twists and turns to his already scenic style of navigation. He only parked two blocks away though, if he had to blow something up, he didn't want to have to trek too far to get back to his car. He decided to leave his supplies in the car until he knew exactly what he was dealing with. He hid in an alleyway across the street to scope out the building, looking for all the usual things.
[spoiler=Infiltration]
Infiltration 4 + Agility 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [5,4,1,5,5,3,5,2] = (4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4160456/)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [5,6,2,5,6,6,2,1,1,5,2,5] = (7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4160459/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
You take a look around the building, not spotting anything unusual except for the camera giving on the back door.
-
*Okay, one camera on the back door. I really doubt that's all though. Where would the hidden measures be?* He started surveying the area for the probable placement of subtle security measures such as sensors, hidden cameras, etc.
[spoiler=Security Design]
Security Design 4 + Intuition 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [4,4,1,2,4,3,2,2] = (0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4160471)
Edge to reroll
8d6.hits(5) → [3,6,2,3,5,5,6,5] = (5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4160472/)
That's better.
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
From your memory you pay special attention to where all the security measures of a building of this type should be, but don't seem to be spotting anything besides that lone camera in the back.
-
*I don't like this at all. Obvious security consists of a single camera, and hidden measures are nonexistent. The hell's going on here?* He started racking his brain, trying to come up for a reason for the odd security set up.
[spoiler=Security Tactics]
Security Tactics 3 + Logic 5 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [4,3,3,5,6,3,3,4] = (2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4160482/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
The only plausible reason you can think of is it's a funeral home. Basically a metahuman-sized furnace, some storage units and a few rooms to expose the soon-to-be-burned.
-
Fischer messaged the team, <Nothing surveillance wise other than a single camera on the rear entrance. If there really is more to this woman's death, it doesn't look like they're protecting the body. I don't like this, smells like a trap.>
-
Smiley was already en route on his bike when he replied to the text. "Well, maybe this will actually be something that goes our way dude, it does happen in the shadows from time to time." :)
When he arrives, Smiley will try to pull up some general info on the area and the business on the public nets on his comm.
-
@Smiley
You're in Nakano ward, closest station is Nakano. A semi-busy area, with a good mix or commercial and residential spaces.
-
As soon as Mia notices J on the move, she signals to her own kami to "rest easy little dude, i might need you soon". Trying to follow J thru the twists and turns of back alleys on her bike is a nightmare tho, so she hits the main drag and continues, and is only minutes away when the address comes thru.
-
Once the team is back together, Smiley will unconsciously start to take charge again, "Ok, J great job on finding the body. So Kuren, now we need a matrix scan of the building to get control of that camera and any other security, and see if they have some kind of transport inside that will get the body out, I don't think Pipebomb wants to put her in his passenger seat. J, do think you and Mia can disable those wards without alerting anyone?"
-
"Impossible I am afraid, you'd need an initiate to fool a ward and I'm just not that powerful.. Let me see..."
Magical Security to see if there is a way around the wards or if going in physically will not set it off. (9d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4161027/)
-
@J
You look at the wards from the outside, making a few laps around the building astrally to make sure you don't miss anything. As lacking as the physical security seems, the Astral one is inversely made. It doesn't seem like there are any seams for spirits or the awakened to get in or out without triggering something. Whomever did the Astral work knew what they were doing. You do notice the scriptures used for the wards are definitely attached to Shintoism.
-
"I've checked the whole place, another Shinto Shaman has set it up, the only way in is physically."
-
"Well then we definitely need to at least try and get into the system then, it will be much more to talk our way out if things go wrong."
-
Kuren hops a few trains to make it to the funeral house, sending a message to the group. <Nice work J-san. Have we decided to continue in a professional manner? I will have no part in meaninglessness brawls but if all agree to be civil I'll see what I can find as soon as I'm in signal range.>
Hacking on the fly going for Security access.
Hacking 3 + Exploit 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162210/)
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162212/)
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162213/)
Lol at least it's consistent.
-
@Kuren
Within moments, the firewall crumbles and you are into the funeral home's system, with admin privileges. It is quite evident that the physical security is mediocre at best.
-
Matrix Perception:
Computer 3 + Analyze 5 = 8d6.
8d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162257/)
First checking the alert status of node then checking for any active IC or agents.
Scan for hidden nodes.
Electronic Warfare 3 + Scan 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162264/)
-
@Kuren
You look into the node's mechanics, but see nothing unusual, including no alerts. It seems you got in without being detected. There doesn't seem to be anything hidden as far as you can tell.
-
Kuren sends a message to the team, <I am in the system. There is next to nothing in terms of security. I will keep looking for any more information. Who is going in?>
Inside the system Kuren monitors the camera feed and starts digging through the records looking for either name the victim was known by.
-
"Well i've got a spook on the line ready to play 20 questions..."
-
<Can you unlock the doors and clear us from the cameras? Is there a hearse or some other transport vehicle inside?> Looking at the others in the meat world Smiley points to Mia and Pipebomb, "You guys have out here and make some noise if you see something. J, Yaibei, let's go grave-robbing." :)
Smiley casually makes his way to the back of the building.
-
<The camera will not be a problem. I will look into the locks but why the concern with a vehicle? Please tell me you all are not planning on stealing the corpse. The shame brought upon us all would be unbearable.>
Despite a great deal of worry Kuren checks the system for locks and any signs of a vehicle.
-
Mia and I would need to move it outside the ward to summon the deceased, or the nearest thing. Can you set the matrix side up so we're okay if you come inside kuren-san, you could at least take a look at it forensic wise.
-
<I see. The matrix side should be fine but I'm still searching for any information. Though I did uncover that this facility is owned by a subsidiary of Renraku, perhaps they are sinisterly involved. I am only a few blocks away, when I get there we should be cleared to go inside. I would very much like to investigate the body before anyone moves it.>
-
"Lets wait for Kuren-san, then he can take his samples before we see how easily a summoning will be, the home seems astrally well maintained, so as long as a spirit doesn't actually TOUCH the ward, I should be able to summon from inside. So long as it isn't layered."
J was finally feeling in his element with magical security, he really missed those fiber cables though.
-
Fischer gave Smiley a short reply, "Very well." Fischer returned to his vehicle and retrieved the molotovs and the grenades. He returned to the team's hiding spot and asked Mia, "I got explosives, incendiaries, and a handgun. What are you bringing to the mix?"
-
"So it is said Kuren, I mean to complete our mission, which was to bring evidence to the Johnson that Ms Kobayashi didn't die of natural causes. I think the greater shame, if that isn't the case, would be to leave her remains in the hands of those who would not see her death avenged, if there was another choice." Smiley responds to the rebuke tactfully, not letting Kuren's outburst affect him.
-
@Kuren
You look through the files, but more specifically in the recent files. Nothing matches the name you're looking for, but you do see a "Kanako Yamada" (the equivalent of a "Jane Doe") that has arrived recently and nobody has made any visits to them or been entered into the contact's list.
-
Finding the recent Kanako Yamada file copying any details it may hold into the case file, then updates the team. <I have found the most likely record of our victim. Identity was unknown. I do not mean to interrupt our assignment Smiley-san. I simply wish that the utmost respect is observed.>
Assuming Kuren has met up with the group he would loop the camera feed and signal he is ready to enter the building.
-
"Mia you can start asking your spirit for what it knows while you guard outside if you like. We could compare notes after i summon one from the body. Anyone good with a lock?" J follows over, having all ready told the spirit not to pass the ward based on leading him to the body ending here it is on standby, and will follow the others in once someone deals with the physical security. Once inside and on the inside of the area the ward encloses, he will look on the astral again to take a look around for anymore astral security, anything important and then take a look at the body once found.
Security Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162893/) that could be bad.
Looking Around Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162894/)
Corpse Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162895/)
-
"I should be able to handle the lock." Kuren closely inspects the lock to find the most appropriate way to bypass it.
Hacking 3 + Spoof 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163450/)
-
"Wouldn't you like to know big boy" Mia winks at Pipebomb and lets the moment hang, just long enough to make him feel awkward "but seriously if this shit blows up in our face i'll bring some serious mojo to bear. Subtle if its neccasary but i prefer to make it loud!" She smiles lookin pointedly at the pile of explosives.
-
Despite Mia's cheeriness, Fischer remained impassive, "Ideally the plan is to make shit blow up in their faces before it can in ours. We need to plan out exactly how we're going to handle any response teams that might show up. We don't have a street sam, kind of ironic really, or a gun bunny. So we don't have the luxury of Plan A being send bullets at the problem." He turned and surveyed the building and surrounding area one more time, looking for the most likely routes a security response team would arrive from.
[spoiler=Security Tactics]
Security Tactics 3 + Logic 5 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [6,4,4,2,5,5,2,3] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162998/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
You look around, evaluating the surroundings. You spot 2 places for a respond team to come from, but without knowing the area, you can't tell for certain which they are most likely to come from.
-
Fischer pulled out his commlink and brought up a map of the area to nail down the route.
Intuition 4 - Defaulting 1 = Pool 3
3d6.hits(5) → [6,2,6] = (2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163834/)
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Kuren double checks that he has the cameras looped then wills the maglock to unlock. He opens the door taking a good look before proceeding inside.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=8 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163635/)
-
"So whats the plan?"
-
@Pipebomb
Looking at the map, you find the most likely spot where any backup would come from; a street that quickly gives to a wider road.
@Kuren
You open the back door and cautiously step inside into a rather small room. You are immediately faced with a heap of thrash bags, the contents of which are unknown to you. To your right is a closed door, the only other exit to the room.
-
Security Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162893/) that could be bad.
Looking Around Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162894/)
Corpse Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162895/)
Second roll can cover things like those trash bags
-
Kuren announced over team chat <Clear.> Unless stopped he moves on to open the next door and takes a good look before proceeding.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=9 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4164163/)
-
@J
You look into the Astral trying to see if anything interesting might be in those garbage bags but find nothing. Nothing with a signature that is.
@Kuren
You move to the other door, careful not to disturb the environment. You slowly open it and take a look into the other room.
The "garbage room" gives into what can only be qualified as the "back room". You see containers of liquids, most of them chemical compounds. There are supplies such as bandages, gloves, etc. On the other side of the room, past the shelving, you see another closed door.
-
After entering the room behind Kuren Akio scans the layout.
16d6.hits(5)=8 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4164364/)
-
Fischer pointed out to Mia the most likely route a response team would arrive from, "That's the most likely point they'll come in from. So we should find some cover and set up an ambush. If they show up, I'll toss a molotov at the windshield, hopefully that'll cause the driver to panic and lose control of the vehicle. Once they stop, or better yet crash, start slinging mojo at them. Meanwhile I'll keep them confused and disoriented with more molotovs. Questions, comments, or suggestions?"
-
"Dazed and confused is my JAM! If its a goon squad or sec, we aint in much shit. Imma gonna stay near my ride just in case but, yeah, if they show, we blow. Point and click, simple simple."
-
Fischer wondered if Mia was always this hyper active, "The plan, in and of itself, may be simple, but execution rarely is. Stay alert, and be ready for a force triple what you expect." With that Fischer left to find them good places to set up for an ambush.
[spoiler=Insurgency Tactics]
Insurgency Tactics 4 + Logic 5 = Pool 9
9d6.hits(5) → [2,1,1,3,1,2,4,2,6] = (1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4164595/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
It seems the best places for an ambush are just between buildings, in dark alleyways.
@Yaibei
Going in behind Kuren, you keep an eye open and see pretty much what would be described as "normal" for a storage room. Some cleaning products, some embalming supplies, etc.
-
"We should set up in non-adjacent alleys on either side of the street to split their focus." Fischer's continued wryly, "I have the sneaking suspicion that not being noticed isn't one of your strong suits. So stay well hidden behind a dumpster or something until you hear a bottle break, or tires screeching." Fischer then went and hide just inside one of the alleys. He kept watch with a molotov in one hand and the zippo in the other.
[spoiler=Infiltration]
Infiltration 4 + Agility 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [2,6,4,5,3,3,4,6] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4164663/)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 + Actively Looking 3 = Pool 15
15d6.hits(5) → [4,4,2,6,5,5,2,1,4,1,4,3,6,6,4] = (5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4164665/)
[/spoiler]
-
Kuren makes his way across the back room, checking behind counters for any hidden assailants. Once satisfied with his sweep he moves to the next door and checks if it's locked.
If it's not locked Kuren will continue his pattern of taking a good look over the room for proceeding.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6
20d6.hits(5)=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4164817/)
-
Mia backs her bike into the alley way opposite PB and lounges out comfortably on her bike. She fires a quick IM to PB"I'll wait for the sound of breaking glass and screaming, natch", gets comfortable and calls her little friend back from the metaplanes to have a chat.
"I may have need of your assistance soon my friend, but for now tell me what you about the woman?"
-
@Kuren
You open the door and realize that this is a door at the end of a corridor. On the right and left, you see entrances to other rooms and at the other end of the corridor you see the entrance to the building, complete with a reception area and another passageway that goes to the far right. From your trip into the node, you know that there's a camera giving on the entrance, but you can't spot it from where you're standing.
@Mia
The spirit materializes in front of you and hears you out. It then looks at you blankly and asks "Which woman"?
-
Following Kuren through slowly J was keeping his nerves settled as he looked around. Not really sure what to be looking for he wanted to call ahead to Kuren, but the man seemed to be concentrating hard.
-
OOC: Sorry guys thought I posted on this a few hours ago but obviously got distracted.
Kuren looks up at the ceiling before moving down the hallway. He goes to the first door on the left hoping to find some sort of designation. A number, a name, anything... If he finds nothing he will open the door to look inside, if there are any kind of designations he will check through the system for any reference.
-
"Uh, guys, whats this chica's name again??"
-
"Kobayashi Mizuki"
-
@Kuren
You get to the first entrance to the left, realising that the door is already open. You see a plaque next to the entrance, but can't make out what it reads with the darkness. Inside the room you see it is lined with a few chairs, some well-placed bamboo trees close to the wall and an area in the middle where the casket would be exposed. Presently there are none in the room though.
-
Kuren pulls his trusty MagFlashTM from his briefcase and shines it on the plaque. Upon noting the door was open he takes a quick look inside. With his flashlight in hand Kuren checks the plaques outside each door for a Kanako Yamada.
-
Looking at the different rooms, you notice only 1 name on the plaques, the other rooms being vacant. The plaque says "Kentaro Ishihara".
-
"Kuren, cant you flag us where the freezer is or something? Look tell us where the cameras are and we can split up, we wont touch anything."
-
"Gomenasai. There are only two cameras, one on the outside of the back door and the inside of the front door. The file did not mention a room location else I would have noted it. Feel free to help look for the name Kanako Yamada."
-
"Thanks." Switching on his low light vision J starts to look around, taking which ever direction Kuren doesn't.
Actively looking perception. (12d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4165700/)
-
@J
You go towards the entrance of the building, making sure Kuren has disabled the camera before passing by it. The entrance splits into two: one corridor where you came from, the other, to the right, into a "members only" area. You try to open the door at the end of the second one but notice it's locked. A quick inspection reveals it's a mechanical lock.
-
"Kobayashi Mizuki of course. I called, you answered cause you knew something about her right?"
-
"Kuren-san, I have a staff area over here with a mechanical lock, I've flagged it with a private ARO for you." with that route blocked till Kuren unlocks it J checks the entrance for any reception area might yield any clues
-
"Hai, I will address it immediately." Kuren follows the ARO to the door J indicated. "There is not much information in the system so hopefully this room can shed some more light."
He kneels before the door and checks the settings on his AutoPicker before putting it to work.
AutoPicker Rating 6 + Agility 4 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4166335/)
That sucked he'll keep at it.
10d6.hits(5)=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4166341/)
That's much better! :D
It takes a few extra seconds but Kuren is able to coax the lock open and signals his success by changing the ARO J placed to a green thumbs up. He takes a good look around the staff room using his flashlight to reveal anything too dark to make out with his low light vision alone.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6.
20d6.hits(5)=8 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4166372/)
"J-san, we are in."
-
@Mia
"Yes" answers the spirit. "I can answer some questions, but you have to be precise in what you ask for, young girl."
@J
You look around the reception area but find nothing of interest pertaining to the case.
@Kuren
Opening the "staff only" area, you see that it is essentially a morgue. There is a big refrigerator in the back with a few compartments for bodies, there are a few prepping tables with a shelf full of chemicals in the back of the room. The same chemicals, in fact, that you saw in the storage area when you first came in. Some instruments are nicely placed in glass cabinets alongside embalming fluids and such. Looking at the refrigerator, you only see one being occupied at the moment: Kanako Yamada.
-
"Looks like we hit jackpot, well I hope so" J follows him in. "Let me know when you're done."
-
Kuren looks around for any sort of files or terminal autopsy information may be stored within. *It would be nice to have a full report. There is no time for a full examination, especially having to find and clean up tools.*
If Kuren finds anything that may have an autopsy report he'll investigate. If not he will move on to the refrigerator and pull the body out for examination.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6.
20d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4167046/)
Let me know if you want any other rolls.
-
Smiley will look for the way the bodies come into the morgue, trying to find how, if necessary to remove the body from the building.
-
Yaibei will ask kuren "what exactly are we looking for here other than a body?"
he will then help take a look around the room.
3 int + 4 perc +2 enhance perception +3 vision enhance + 3 actively looking = 15
15d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4167218/) so much for that
-
@Kuren
You look around for a short time, looking for any sort of report on the body. Attached to the refrigerated locker is an RFID tag with a report on whatever body is in at the moment. You find the report for "Kanako Yamada" and read through it. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly in this case), the report is quite short. You quickly spot the cause of death, which says it's heart failure. Besides that, nothing else seems to stand out in the report, except of course for its brevity and the fact that it says Kanako Yamada worked for Renraku.
@Smiley
Looking around, you see a couple of stretchers in the corner of the room.
-
"Well i spose the most pressing questions are how she died and who killed her?"
-
@Mia
"She was killed, neko-chan" answers the spirit. "As to who did it, I do not know. You might have a better chance of asking her directly. But I can tell you she was found in her apartment and that it was completely emptied of any evidence."
-
"do you know how she was killed? what method?"
-
The spirit looks away, tapping into something you're not quite sure. "There was a struggle, a lot of fear. In the end a substance was used to cut her life short."
-
"It was MOTHER FUCKIN POISON!! Shit yeah! Get your Chem lovin ass to the body Kuren and squeeze some pee inta a jar!"
(As Mia's msg blinks up on everyones comms the sound of drums start to play, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sT54IEORII (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sT54IEORII) , Whoops? :P )
-
Fischer quickly cut the music short, and sent Mia a reply, <Dammit, are you trying to get us caught?!>
-
"Dude, lighten up PB, and enjoy some culture. That is classic shit man, and we got THIS jam on wax."
-
<Your carelessness and overconfidence will get you killed sooner rather than later. Now be a good little girl and stay absolutely quiet unless you want a sec team to blow you way.>
-
After copying the short report Kuren waves the others over to the fridge, "I could use a hand here. I will need to move her gently to examine her." He whispers a short prayer for the dead before opening the refrigerator. Using his handheld camera he begins his examination, directing the others to help lift and turn as needed.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6.
20d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4167655/)
Taking into consideration she may have been poisoned like Mia suggested Kuren is looking for any unusual discoloration/bruising/swelling specifically focusing around the nose and mouth. He takes samples as he goes: a swap from the inside of the mouth, nose, and ears, scrapings from under fingernails, a few strands of hair, etc. Kuren is taking his time and meticulously documenting anything he finds and updating his case file with each new piece of information.
-
@Kuren
After a thorough inspection, you have all the samples you need for a proper analysis. You did notice that there was some sort of residue under her nails, but anything more precise than that will have to come later.
-
After securing the sample from under the nails Kuren holds it up for the others to see, "This could be our killer right here gentlemen. I have done all I can here. I must process the samples before I can garner any new information." He packs up his tools in his briefcase and makes sure the samples won't be disturbed on the way back to the lab. He stands ready, having done his part Kuren looks to the others for the next move.
-
"We can't leave her, any evidence of a crime will burn with her in the morning."
-
"What exactly do you suggest we do then? I could edit the system to indicate she was already incinerated but where are we going to keep a body? Not to mention how we would dispose of it. I do not wish to argue with your request but the logistics of actually doing it are complicated at best."
-
<Mia, Pipe, we need a van, can you see one on the street?>
"If we find a vehicle you can hack it and we can get the body out of here. We can contact the Johnson and either take it to the Womb or another place I know. Then we let the Johnson decide what to do about his friend."
-
"Smiley-san I do not know of your culture's burial rites but here it is a grave insult to deny one proper passage. As much as it pains me to lose evidence I would rather not shame myself beyond reproach. I am certain our employer would be livid were we to deny proper burial to a close friend."
Kuren stands firm with a somber face.
-
"I think Kuren-san is right. We can get other evidence, Mr. Tanaka didn't want the body retrieved so i think he wants it to get its burial. Also... if it stopped her heart, could it have been an allergy? I have one, not going to kill me but..."
-
Kuren nods affirmative as J speaks. "I have many samples to test which could prove valuable. With any luck they will prove as fruitful as anything I could garner from the body."
-
"Well then I guess it's my turn." He mentally dismissed the spirit outside, thanking him for his help and though he had more tasks due of him, he would not call on these as recompense for the spirits help. Opening his senses to the astral and activating his father's ring, he reached out, deeper and deeper into the other realms this time. The victims body was a good anchor, one that would allow him, he hoped, to pull in a spirit of man who was more or less the victim herself.
Force 5 Spirit of Man (12d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4167820/)
Spirit resist (5d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4167822/) 1 Task.
6S Drain Resist (10d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4167828/) Balls Currently at 8S, 3 boxes left..
As the spirit sprung worth from the victims body, as if synchronised, J dropped to his knees. Barely conscious, his mind and body wracked with pain he did his best to hold it together. "Honored kami, thank you for speaking with us...ng..." He swayed as he returned to his feet to bow.
"We ask of you all you can tell us of the killing of Kobayashi Mizuki, the soul who resided in this body. We have heard she was poisoned, but we seek by who and what motive they had to end her life prematurely."
-
Kuren places his hand on J to help stabilize him and offers his cane to lean on. *I should have brought the medkit after all.*
He sends out a note to the others, <Does anyone have a stimulant patch or medkit available? The spirit J-san summoned seems to have weakened him greatly.>
-
@J
You try to summon a spirit that is more in sync with the body. As you call for something in the Astral, you are immediately assaulted with feelings of fear and suffering. Quite clearly the spirit is in pain and that pain is directly being communicated to you. Eventually you are able to reach out to the spirit, forcing it to materialize in front of you. The spirit, a panicked woman vaguely reassembling the body in front of you, asks "Where am I? Who are you?", looking around in fear, not understanding her condition just yet.
-
"Hrm kuso.. I did too well." Thanks to Kuren he straightens up. "You may relax, we mean no harm, we only wish to speak. If you concentrate you will remember, you are Kobayashi Mizuki, correct?"
-
The spirit seems confused and consumed with its emotions. The woman stops for a moment and thinks. "Kobayashi..." she says. "Kobayashi... Mizuki." You see a distinct change in her behaviour, although she is still scared and panicked. "Yes, that is my name. Kobayashi Mizuki."
-
"Is it all right if we speak with you Kobayashi-san? I apologize that calling you here has caused you distress."
Knowledge Spirits for asking a Spirit like this about their own death and the circumstances around it, Corporate Knowledge for Renraku Negotiations, Etiquette for talking to someone in a corp and imperial background and Default Negotiation. (7d6.hits(5)=5, 6d6.hits(5)=3, 6d6.hits(5)=1, 6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4168747/)
Most of this was to show J wouldnt fuck up talking to her because im not sure what to ask to not freak her out when i'm looking for her killer, motive and evidence..
-
"You want to... talk to me?" asks the spirit. The spirit is clearly confused, almost in a state of shock.
@J
You know that a spirit so recently departed probably has no recollection of it being dead, somewhere in a dream-like state. Telling her the obvious will most probably result in denial, which might lead to a violent outburst. Your experience and gut tell you that asking questions about her in general and not specifically about her death would be the wisest course here.
-
"Yes if that is all right Kobayashi-san... you live in Suginami ward correct? Whats it like there, is it nice to live in?"
-
"In Suginami? Yes, it's nice to live in Kita ward."
-
"Rent is all ways higher in the nice parts though, what do you do to afford it?"
This was going to take a while...
-
"Rent? Renraku pays enough, I hope I can renew my contract again. Rent is expensive in the nice parts of town..." answers the spirit, still confused.
-
"Ah you work for Renraku, I work..ed for Saeder Krupp here too. Is your job going well? Having any trouble?""
-
"My job? I think it's going well. I hope they renew my contract again" answers the spirit.
-
"So over at SK I was security, I protected people, kept them safe. I guess they thought i was trustworthy. What department do you work in for Renraku? What do you do for them?"
He sent a quick text message "Only clue so far is her contract was expiring."
-
"I work for Mr. Ishihara. I enjoy working with him, he's nice."
-
"Got a name for you Kuren, Mr. Ishihara, Renraku, her boss."
Oh he's standing right here listening too isn't he. God this migraine.
"Its good to hear you like your work, what do you do in your spare time?"
-
"Photography I enjoy"
-
"Ah that's a great hobby. I never had the patience for it. Do you spend your wage on the latest Trideo Cameras?" He smiled at the spirit, hoping she'd relax a bit more... if he could just get her to talk more of her own accord... but he had a suspicion she was a reserved person while alive.
-
"I enjoy older, 2D cameras. The pictures look more authentic"
@Kuren
The mention of a 2D camera gets your subconscious thinking. After a few moments, it hits you: you didn't find any 2D camera in the apartment earlier. Only a small, cheap Trideo camera.
-
"Oh how retro! Where do you develop them? It takes a bunch of chemicals doesn't it?"
-
As Kuren adds the new information to the case file he forwards the updates to the rest of the team.
<//CaseFile_Update: Victim was a vintage photography enthusiast yet no 2D cameras were present in her apartment. (Possible Motive)
//CaseFile_Update: Victim's boss a man by the name of Ichihara under employ of Renraku. (Possible Suspect)>
He then starts to open his mouth but decides not to interject in J's conversation with the spirit and sends him a message, <J-san, I suggest you inquire about her latest photographs. If the cameras were stolen it could mean our victim took a photo worth killing for.>
-
"That was my thought too Kuren-san."
-
The spirit answers "I like the simplicity of it all, taking pictures relaxes me. It makes me glad when I take a nice picture", clearly not paying attention to your question.
-
"Did you take any nice pictures recently?"
-
The spirit doesn't answer, lost in thought.
-
"... you must like showing your pictures to your family?" Maybe changing the topic will help bring her back to focus... no pun intended.
-
"My pictures? She never has time to see them anymore" says the spirit, an air of sadness around her.
-
"Oh, who is that? A sister?"
-
You can clearly see distress in the spirit's words, her behaviour gradually becoming more agitated. "Where did I go wrong, my poor Makoto" says the spirit, visibly upset.
-
"Do not worry Kobayashi-san, it is so very late, time to sleep right?" Not wanting to push his luck J decided to send the spirit away now before it became more distressed.
-
The spirit vanishes, a faint sobbing echoing for a moment in the morgue. The room returns to its peaceful state, the tension in the room slowly returning to normal levels. With that, you are left with few answers and many more questions.
-
Kuren runs a search on Kobayashi Makoto, suspecting the individual to be a teenaged progeny of the victim.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4171026/)
Please correct me if the I got the names backwards I figure the surname goes first.
Specifically looking for teenagers om the search.
Extending the test.
10d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4171321/)
10d6.hits(5)=2, 10d6.hits(5)=4, 10d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4171322/)
-
<Sensei, I normally don't bother you about details, but is there anything you can tell me about this lady that may be helpful? any enemies? people she knows?>
if I would know this already or he would have already told me Ignore the above and make it a memory thing.
-
@Yaibei
Not long after you send your message you get an answer:
"All I can say is she was a very secretive and cautious woman."
-
"Now that that's over... if no one minds i'm going home..."
-
@Kuren
You start searching for a "Kobayashi Makoto". After about 15 minutes, you find a relevant hit: someone by that name works at club "Venus Fly Trap" in Kabukicho.
-
Satisfied with the search results for now Kuren updates the case file and alerts the team again. *Clubs definitely seem like Smiley or Mia's area of expertise. Maybe they can investigate while I process the samples.*
<//CaseFile_Update: Kobayashi Makoto currently employed at a club known as 'Venus Fly Trap' in Kabukicho. (PoI: probable descendant and roommate)>
<Smiley-san and Mia-san do you know the club? Could be worth you two investing.>
-
"Finally some fun! You bringin the single nuyens Smilez?"
-
J returned to his alleyway, checked everything was safe and in its place and curled up under his cardboard. His head was killing him, he needed to get better quickly so he could think about what just happened.
healing (6d6.hits(5)=2, 6d6.hits(5)=2, 6d6.hits(5)=3, 6d6.hits(5)=5, 6d6.hits(5)=3, 6d6.hits(5)=4, 6d6.hits(5)=1, 6d6.hits(5)=2, 6d6.hits(5)=3, 6d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4172742/) Healed in 3 hours.
-
"Something tells me that singles would be more an insult than anything kitty cat, but l am sure I got it covered, let's go."
Smiley heads for his bike, sending a text to Tetsuo
<At a crematorium in the Nakano district, near Nakano station, there has been a break in. Inside you will find a body listed as Kanako Yamada. This woman is Kobayashi Mizuki, aka Kawaguchi Fumiko, her passing was not due to heart failure, but rather poisoning. I will trust you to make sure that proper arrangements are made for her, but hurry, she will be disposed of in anonymity early this morning.>
-
Kuren walks two blocks south then five blocks east before hailing a cab, heading back to HQ. Once there he set to work setting up the lab to preform the necessary tests.
Chemistry 1 + Logic 6 + Personal Lab 2 = 9d6.
9d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173532/)
I'll use a point of Edge to reroll failures. Leaving me at 1/3 Edge.
7d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173533/) YATTA!
Once the tests are complete he turns in and sets and alarm to be awake early enough to grab a shower and meet the Johnson in the morning.
-
After the others finished playing twenty questions with the woman's ghost, Fischer returned to his car and waited for Kuren to leave. Fischer attempted to follow the detective back to his lab unnoticed.
[spoiler=Shadowing]
Shadowing 4 + Intuition 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [2,4,5,6,4,6,6,5] = (5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173593/)
[/spoiler]
-
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 - Opposed 5 = 12d6.
12d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173676/)
If that's enough to notice Kuren will tell the taxI to pull over at the nearest subway and drop him off. It's harder to track by car.
-
Mia jumps on her bike and whistles to ninja boy "You coming along sugar?"
-
@Kuren
Your cab zips through the (relatively) empty Tokyo streets and soon lets you out at your place. You get in, tired, but diligently put your gear to work and let it do its thing before getting some shuteye.
@Pipebomb
You try to follow the Japanese human. He sneaks around streets, turning left and right before getting into a cab. You try to be careful not to be seen, following them from a good distance. Eventually the cab slows down and its passenger gets out, Kuren going into a building and swiftly closing the door.
-
@Smiley
"Alright, got it. On whom's behalf am I doing this?"
-
@Tetsuo
<Anonymous tip, though you can probably find some family with a little digging>
-
A rare smile spread across Fischer's face, something that was never good for someone, *Gotcha fucker.* The would-be serial bomber took note of the building's address and gave it a quick look over as he drove past. He thought about thoroughly scouting the place, but decided against it. The run came first and it wouldn't be good if Kuren caught him skulking about his place. Besides he intended to kill Kuren in his first bombing, so he had the time to do things properly. Fischer drove off into the night, *Your mangled corpse will be the first to sent my message to this blight of a nation.*
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Perceptive 2 + Hawkeye 1 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [4,4,5,2,4,5,4,1,1,5,5,1] = (4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173891/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
The building itself is nothing impressive. A small sign outside says the business on the first floor is called "TIA". A look around the adjacent buildings tells you this is definitely corporate territory, as you notice a few cameras giving on the streets.
-
@Smiley
"Alright, I'll try to find someone that gives a shit and I'll let you know."
-
"sugar? but yes, I suppose it is indeed better than walking" He responds
-
"Alright Smilez, time to paint this town RED!!"
With the kid on the bcak, Mia tears down the streets on her Scorpion, heading towards the club.
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
You arrive in Kabukichou around 2:20 and find a small parking lot for your vehicles. The bright lights, the various signs for different sorts of sins available, the hustlers in the streets trying to get you in their establishments, the spam in AR, it all assails you at the same time, relentlessly. After dodging a few people, you get to the "Venus Flower Trap", a hostess club "catering to the needs of distinguished gentlemen".
-
Fischer sent a message to Smiley, <There isn't anything for me to contribute at this hostess club, I'm calling it a night.> Instead of heading back to his motel room, Fischer went to a bar in Minato Ward called The Gateway. It was a shadow friendly and gaijin friendly bar, the one Fischer met his fixer at. Fischer hoped to run into Sandman, but wasn't really expecting to. Regardless, Fischer sat at the bar and ordered two shots of vodka and a pint of beer.
-
<Okay Paleface, try not to kill anyone 'til I seeya..>
As they approach the club, he takes Mia into his arms and whispers to Jubei, "Take the lead kid, I am an out of towner your boss needs to impress for business and kittycat is a local joygirl we are bringing to the party. Get us inside and don't take no for an answer, we'll back your play."
-
All too happy to play along Mia makes a quick change
(makeover and fashion (force 5) to make herself look the part.
12d6.hits(5)=6, 12d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4181621/) 6 each but at force 5 so...
and drain rolls
12d6.hits(5)=2, 12d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4181622/) against 2 each as well so all good
Mia melts into Smileys arms, staring at him with big dreamy eyes. She leans her head in close, resting it in the crook of his neck and whispers "Joygirl... well im glad to see we get to play out Someones fantasy!"
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
You get to the entrance of the "club" and a Japanese human quickly looks at the trio and blocks the way. He tells you "The snack bars are over there" in Japanese, and points down the street. He then makes an "X" sign with his arms and says "No Engrish" with a broken accent.
-
"SNACK BAR? Did he say snack bar?" Smiley said, allowing a more enhanced version of the intoxication he walk around in to reveal itself in his speech, and appearing lean more on Mia than he actually was. "Hey Ju-Ju, your boss said this was the place right? Said we would find some nice girls to talk to. This guy doesn't know does he? Hope he don't have to lose fingers or a face or something when his boss finds out this guy made his old friend lose that mining contract in the NAN. Damn shame, well let's head back to Rippongi, least they speaky EGRISH there."
OOC : I will wait to roll the Con until Smiley gets any coordinating dice from Mia and/or Jubei.
-
Con+Cha+Kin+Coo= :) (15d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4187866/)
Smiley looks back over his shoulder at the doorman, letting it sink in that this was his job, if not his physical health, walking away.
-
@Smiley
The doorman tries to play it cool, asking "What contract?" nonchalantly. You can tell he's hiding his hand well, but your years of socializing tell you he's biting.
-
"The multi-billion dollar mining contract that his bosses,.." pointing to Jubei, "..flew me over the ocean to negotiate. I am just looking to unwind and meet some nice locals, but don't chu worry about it pal, I am heading for Germany next weekend, I bet the dragon knows enough to treat his guests well." Smiley continues to walk off, completely unconcerned.
-
Yaibei just looks At the bouncer and shakes his head. Then goes to follow smiley
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
You walk away hoping your bluff will work. A moment later, you hear a tongue clicking behind you and the bouncer calls over to you "Oi! If I let you in, do you think you can forget this and not mention anything to Kosuge-san? The first hour is on me." He then invites you in, presenting you with a token each.
-
"Mention what my friend? The only thing I could mention is what responsible and professional people work at Venus." Smiley says magnanimously as he enters the club.
-
You go into a dimmed room, tables and booths filled with customers and their "purchases". A hostess brings you to a booth in the back of the room, people looking your way as you walk across the room. She then asks you for your drink order in a polite, yet childish way, referring to Yaibei as "older brother", Mia as "older sister" and Smiley as "boss".
-
"I would like something light and refreshing, and someone special to share it with. My friend told me that a girl named Makato is especially good company." says Smiley as he passes her a credstick, "I don't think older brother is drinking, but you should bring a bottle for the lady."
-
"Makoto?" asks the girl, trying to sound surprised. "I think Makoto is busy at the moment. But if boss wants someone cute, I'm always free."
-
"I am sure you are a wonderful person to speak with, perhaps you can bring older brother out of his shell a bit, but I am afraid that Makato has come highly recommended and I must insist." Smiley says in reply, "Jubei, go with the lady and see if you can't arrange for Makato's time. If she is engaged perhaps quanity can be exchanged for her quality, at my expense, of course. Kitty-cat, go help the young man."
Smiley relaxes into his seat, the very picture of a powerful man used to getting his way.
-
The woman makes an exaggerated sad face and says "Let me get her for you" before going back to the bar where the other working ladies are gathered, no doubt gossiping amongst themselves. After a moment, one of the girls comes over and smiles at you. "Otsukaresama, Boss. You must be very tired after such a big day. Have you ordered a drink yet?"
-
"I am not sure actually, are you Makato? I asked the other hostess for something, but she may have decided not to get it for me." Smiley gives an obviously exaggerated mocking pout,
-
Mia pouts at Smiley at the suggestion she leave "Oh come on boss, you sure i can't stay" she say fluttering her lashes. "Well fine then, im going to powder my nose then!" Mia huffs out of there like a sulky kid and heads straight for the bathroom.
-
@Smiley
"Yes, I am Makoto. May I ask who referred me to you, Boss?" asks the girl, trying to be as polite as possible. At the same time, a waitress brings you an order of what you think is shouchu and Makoto grabs it and pours it in a glass filled with ice for you. "Here you go, Boss, please enjoy your drink."
@Mia
You head to the bathroom and immediately come face-to-face with a working girl getting out of the washroom. She excuses herself before leaving, the door swinging shut behind her. You push it open to reveal another 3 girls inside, fixing their makeup and chatting to each other. As you get in, they stop talking and look at you, fake smiles appearing on their faces.
-
"You can ask, I may even give you an answer if you ask nicely enough." sipping the drink, he smiles playfully, "I hope I am not drinking alone, and I hope I can convince you to call me something other than boss."
-
@Smiley
"Will you buy me some plum liqueur then?" asks the girl at your request. "So, what is it that you do, Boss?"
-
"That sounds very tasty, let's get a bottle." Smiley says, settling and sipping the other drink, "Back home my name is David White Cloud, though I suppose that would be White Cloud David here, I think. What is your family name?"
-
"Kobayashi" answers the girl. "It's a very common name around here. So how long are you staying in Japan?"
-
@Pipebomb
In the wee hours of the morning, your commlink notifies you of an incoming message. "Here's what I found on this guy. But why do you want to know so much about him? He seems like your average drone-turned-to-the-shadows to me.
Kuren, real name Yamaguchi Kaname, born to both Japanese parents. He served in the JIA as an MP. Left of his own accord with a medical honourable discharge after a disgruntled soldier injured him. Shortly thereafter started his own business called TIA. Has a pretty decent solving record, but doesn't get much official business anymore. In the shadows, he's known for fact-finding and good at analyzing things. Knows his ways around the Matrix too."
-
Fischer read the message, *Drek, I was hoping there'd be something here I could use against him. This disgruntled soldier could be a lead, but I have no way to find him and if Sandman keeps digging it might get around to the wrong ears.* He sent the fixer his reply, <As I said, I want info on J, Smiley and Kuren because their former corp/military ties make me suspicious. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but aren't you the one that said I was more paranoid than an ultranationalist on meth?
-
"Well, I suppose that depends on how things go with Renraku, are you looking to get rid of me already?" Smiley will belooking for a reaction when he names the corp.
-
@Pipebomb
"Yes, and I always remind you of how paranoid you are every time you start being paranoid. It'll take time for the other two, especially the redskin, but I'll get back to you."
-
"Hey girls, dont mind me, this guy has me dressing up like this... it's a nightmare!" Mia starts to take her makeup off at the mirror.
-
@Mia
Some of the girls give you a polite smile, look at each other and giggle and resume fixing their makeup, but do so in silence. Only the soft music from the club can faintly be heard from behind the door now.
-
@Smiley
Makoto's expression doesn't change at all. "Not at all, Boss. Don't tease me like that" answers the girl in a joyful complaining tone, giving you a playful slap on your chest. "You must be pretty important if you work with Renraku. Which city do you live in?"
-
"I got a little place in The Nation, no real town near to speak of, but mostly I live out of a bag or a coffin. That is why I try to meet nice locals when I travel, they usually know the best places to get a good meal." Smiley says, smiling as he sips his drink.
-
"You must be very tired, working as hard as you do" says the girl as a waitress comes over with her drink order. "You look like you could use another drink, Boss" says Makoto to you, ordering another shouchu for you.
-
Smiley holds up a hand to halt the waitress, "I thought we were sharing a bottle of the plum, and I really do need to look into getting some food. I know this is a bit forward, but could I ask you to join me and my companions?" Throwing his considerable charm behind the request, Smiley gives Makato "The Smolder"TM (Copyright 2010, Zachary Levi, Walt Disney Studios Tangled)
15d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4193113/)
-
"This is highly irregular, Boss" answers Makoto. "But you look nice, so I'll make an exception for you. I finish work around 5:30, so if you want we could go somewhere after with your friends. I can bring some friends as well."
-
Mia starts to remove her makeup in the slience for a few moments, then stops and turns to the girls "I hope you dont mind but well, I wondered if you girls wanted a hand with your look? I have a few little beauty secrets up my sleeves!" She then proceeds to cast Healthy Glow on her self removing all traes of the make up and making herself glow with freshness, and after a pause to let it sink in, she cast makeover, going for a much more subtle enhancment to her features, bringing out her eyes and high cheeckbones and generally giving herself the trid starlet look.
Force 5 Healthy Glow and Makeover
14d6.hits(5)=8, 14d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4193150/)
Drain against DV 1 & 2
12d6.hits(5)=7, 12d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4193152/)
(OOC. Damn thems some wasted rolls...)
-
"I have to be back at the office this morning, is there someone I can speak to about letting you go early?" Smiley rises from the table taking Makato's hand and starts looking around for a manager.
-
@Smiley
Makoto looks startled as you take her hand. "This is not how things work here, Boss" she says, giving you a nervous laugh. As you stand up, you notice half the club looking at you and a man dressed in what looks like a tuxedo coming over your way rather quickly.
@Mia
One girl answers a simple "no sank yu" in broken English before they all look at each other and start giggling once more. One girl says "Your English is terrible" and they all leave the washroom, still giggling.
-
"Well, I don't want to get you in trouble, sorry about that." Smiley sat back down, wondering how long it will take Tetsuo to find this girl. Absently he sipped his drink, looking at the tuxedo man, toasted him. Turning back to Makato, he tried to regain lost ground, "I hope I haven't scared you off, I am just a bit hungry, we have been in meetings all day. You asked about my home, are you from Tokyo?"
-
The tuxedo man comes to you and says "Talk only, no take" in broken English making a big "X" with his arms. He clearly doesn't look happy about the way you grabbed your girl. Throughout the room, you can feel the stares on you, murmurs barely audible but no doubt talking about you.
-
In Japanese, Smiley will reply to the gentleman, "I apologize, it was not my intention to make a scene or dishonor your establishment. Hunger spoke louder than good sense, it has been a long day, and I was hoping that it was possible for the lady to complete her shift early so she could show me a nice restaurant. Please excuse a gaijin for poor manners." He will make the statement trying to walk a tightrope of maintaining control, yet showing contrition. A proper bow/nod will follow.
-
The man simple looks at you and says "The club closes at 5:30, we're sorry if that inconveniences you" with a bow. You notice Makoto also slightly bowing.
-
Smiley will accept the rebuke without reaction, the incident already forgotten in his behavior, and will spend the remaining time wooing Makoto and keeping her with him. He will nurse the drinks so as to avoid getting too intoxicated, but will keep Makoto drinking as much as she wants.
-
@Smiley
The night goes on without any other major incidents. Makoto matches your drinking speed, as any decent hostess should. Around 5:30, you see all the other patrons have left and your group is the only one left, with Mia sitting not far from you sipping on a drink, no doubt singing some song in her head and Yaibei, as tight as ever, sipping a cranberry juice at the bar, the staff trying to keep their interactions to a minimum with him. Nobody wants to tell you it's closing time, but you definitely see it through their actions that it's time for you to go.
-
"Is there somewhere I should meet you? It is looking like I should gather my associates and be going, but I hope you are still interested in showing me a good place to eat." Smiley says to the hostess.
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
"You can meet me at the convenience store at the end of the street in 15 minutes, and we can go to the place" answers the girl. As you get up to leave, everyone in the bar bows to you and the usual "Arigatou gozaimashita" is echoed by everyone. Getting out into the street, you realise the sun is on its way up.
@Kuren
You wake up to find a message from both of your contacts you messaged last night. The first, from the detective, is very short: "Never heard of him. Do you have a SIN I can look up?"
The second message, a little lengthier, goes like this. "Here's what I found. It's not much, but I hope it helps you Yamaguchi-san.
Pipebomb just recently moved to Neo-Tokyo. In fact, he just recently moved to the JIS altogether. There's not much in police databases about him as a result, but I was able to find his real name thanks to the images you sent me. His real name is Michael Fisher and he comes from CalFree. I found old footage of his parents fighting against our forces in San Francisco, but they eventually died for their deluded cause. There are unofficial reports that Michael might have hit Imperial Forces with IEDs after their death, but nothing has been factually linked to him. As to why he's in Neo-Tokyo is anyone's guess, but I'll bet it's not to pay his respects to the Emperor."
-
Kuren's alarms blare out early in the morning, luckily one of them belonged to the soykaf machine. With hot cup in hand Kuren reads through the replies to inquiries. The detective's reply was about as helpful as he had anticipated. *I highly doubt Mr. Fisher has a legitimate SIN being from California and even if he did, he certainly wouldn't be using it to travel here. Hmm... for now I had best just keep a close eye on him.*
QuickReply to the detective: <Not yet Detective. I'll let you know once I have more information. Thank you in advance.>
A reply to his old friend would take a little more thought and tact. Kuren takes some time checking the tests to gather his thoughts and update his file on Pipebomb before sending out his next reply. <Thank you Saito-san. You've given me a good place to start. Next time you have some leave you must let me buy you a drink.>
Kuren cleans up and has a simple breakfast then spends the rest of his time before the meeting to compile the results of his tests. He leaves with enough time to take the subway and still arrive a few minutes early.
-
"It doesn't look like any of your co-workers have taken an interest in either of my friends, but they are certainly welcome as long as they don't mind giving us privacy." Smiley will give her good bow as he leaves, and once the runners are out of earshot will brief Jubei and Mia on Makoto and their 'date' as they head for the store. "How do you guys want to do this interrogation? Keep it nice, or flip the script and go hardball with her?"
-
J stretched and started to do a simple exercise routine when he awoke, watching the sun rise from his alleyway. After stuffing sleeping gear into the usual stash he began to eat one of the small vendor meals he had gotten his hands on earlier in the week.
With his daily source of krill and soy eaten he used his commlink to message Kuren. "What time are we picking the box up from the J again, Kuren-san? I saw you were keeping extensive AR notes, and I didn't want to be late."
-
Kuren perked up seeing J's message. *Excellent I was afraid I'd have to go alone..* He replies, <Ohayōgozaimasu J-san. We are scheduled to meet at 1100 hours, I look forward to seeing you there.>
-
"You too Kuren-san. See you there." With a couple hours till the walk to the Johnson's club, J meditated on the spirit they spoke too the night before. he had never had to pull up a spirit of man that powerful before in such a way, no spirit he had ever summoned had seemed so much like a person, and he thought on this through the morning.
When the time comes he will head off to meet Kuren.
-
@Kuren
As you're sipping your soycaf and reading through your emails, a light beeping sound announces the completion of the tests. You finish replying and head into the other room to see the results:
- Your DNA samples turned up 3 different individuals. Two women in the apartment, and one man from the body sample. You will have to run them through a database to know their identity. (OOC: Either you hack yourself into one or you hand off your stuff to someone else)
- You found a foreign substance in the body on top of the usual stuff: calebas curare.
-
Kuren runs a search for the foreign substance.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4202727/)
He then messages the detective again, <On an unrelated note maybe you could run these samples through your databases. /attached file /DNA_samples\ It could be worth some cred for your time. >
-
"I see no reason to play bad cop just yet. Get what you can out of her and if it ain't enough..."
-
@Kuren
You send your results to your contact and your message is met with an "I'll send you a message when I get the results" almost instantaneously.
You then get to searching for "culebas curare" on the Matrix. After a few moments, you find that it is a poison that was primarily used by aboriginal tribes in South America. The poison works as a lethal muscle relaxant, stopping the basic bodily functions, which usually ends with respiration paralysis, but doesn't affect the heart.
Satisfied with your findings, you decide to get ready to go meet the Johnson when something catches your eye: it's one of those "independent reporter" node mentioning something about curare in Neo-Tokyo. Curious, you read through the short paragraph. The "reporter", if you could call him that, says that he found a strange correlation between people dying after having run-ins with the Yoshimoto-gumi and deaths from people with curare poisoning. Of course, no evidence is presented to back his hunch.
-
*Interesting*, Kuren thinks as he finishes the article. *I may have to investigate any possible Yakuza connections. As he rides towards the meet on the subway he will update the case file.
<CaseFileUpdate: Possible CoD: Culebas Curare (Possible Yakuza connection)>
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
You wait for a while and, true to her word, you see Makoto walking towards you with two other women. She waves at you from afar, with a smile on her face. Once they reach you, Makoto says "Sorry to make you wait" and gives you a small bow. She then continues with "This is Risa and Urara. The place is this way" and gets going down the street, avoiding the drunken salarymen and the various detritus lining the street.
-
Smiley will bump Jubei towards the other girls, and then take Mia and Makoto by the arms. "Makoto, this is my friend Kitty, she was just tellng me a wonderful story about her brother being in a local youth movement, I don't see my folks anymore with work and all. What is your family situation my lady?" Smiley is making it seem like this is just banter and small talk, but he is watching her carefully with this question.
(OOC: Let me know if you need some rolls, I am posting remotely at the moment.)
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
Makoto smiles at you and says "Nothing special, a mother and a father. What about you, White Cloud-san?"
-
Smiley grins "David-san, and I asked you first. I am curious about how family relationships work over here, are you a 'Daddy's Girl'?"
He is friendly in tone, and the question seems casual, but this the first he has heard of a father in the picture. He hopes one of the others picks up on the item and can get some intel working.
-
"Are you asking if I'm married, David-san?" asks Makoto, an amused tone indicating that this is more games than serious for her. She then stops in front of a small building and enters with you, the rest of the gang in tow. The place could probably seat 10 people if chair were shared, no more. Makoto and the other 2 girls salute the chef and recommend you order the "late-night special", which is what they're having.
-
Fischer sighed at Sandman, "Fine, but you don't get my money until you deliver on the other two." He looked at the clock on his commlink and sighed again, *I should probably get some sleep.* With that he left the bar and headed back to the motel he called home for the time being, *I should start looking into a new place, I've been at that motel far too long.* As he made his way way back to his room, Fischer pondered on the prospect of Japan having an Eastern equivalent of European hostels.
-
Following the lead of their guide, Smiley will order for the three runners, also making seemingly casual maneuvers to put Makato between Mia and himself in seating, if not physically separating the three of them.
"Where I come from it would take quite a bit of wampum to make an offer for such a fine bride, I am simply trying to gather intel. I understand if you see these questions as forward, but I really would like to know more, but I understand if there is some other reason you wouldn't want to share, we have family dysfunction in the Native American lands as well." Smiley will still carefully watch for reactions as well as answers she makes.
He will also fire off a quick text to Kuren "Found the daughter, any info on the girl's father?"
-
<Not as of yet Smiley-san. DNA testing is still in the works.>
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
"No dysfunction, David-san, just a normal family. So, do you often come to Neo-Tokyo or is this your first time?" asks Makoto, smiling at you and ordering some Bloody Marys for everyone. (OOC: Judge intentions, C)
-
Text to Kuren: Not talking about the DNA, find out who her father is, if it matches your DNA great, but we need a name and bio.
Judge Intentions Charisma(5)+Logic(2)+Kinesics(3)= (11d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4211327/)
-
Running a search cross referencing Mankato and looking for any male names sharing either surname he's found.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4211352/)
OOC: I'm going to bed but Kuren will forward any results to Smiley.
-
@Smiley
Your years of socializing tell you that Makoto is not being honest with you
@Kuren
A search on the Matrix reveals nothing in terms of name connections.
-
@Pipebomb
You get a message from Sandman which takes you by surprise.
"Here's what I found. I'll expect payment soon, omae.
David Smiling Wolf, aka Smiley, born and raised in the Sioux nation. Unremarkable childhood, but both his parents died shortly after he entered adulthood. He still entered the military on schedule, where his career is a mix of ups and downs. It seems he got around a lot, but there was always someone to bail him when he crossed the line.
He was discharged for killing someone in self-defence. Apparently he was sleeping with the victim's wife, so there's a motive there.
In Neo-Tokyo, he's well known in the bar/club scene. Seems he knows someone almost everywhere.
Conrad Johnson, J, from the UCAS, worked for SK in Neo-Tokyo. Nothing about his work stands out, and his corp record is sealed. However, I did find that the reason he lost his job is because his father was caught on camera sneaking in a lab and stealing something valuable. Valuable enough for J to lose his job over.
Guess he had some connections, cause it only cost him his job. Since then, he's been off the grid with him being evicted from his apartment and not having picked up an official address."
-
Smiley will immediately go cold and stony, "Makoto, you mistake me. Honesty is a very important to me, and who I spend my time and nuyen with is directly reflective of that. I realize my ignorange of your culture has resulted in some embarrassment for you, and for that I apologize, but you became known to me as a person who's company I would enjoy, something I agreed with up until now, that came from someone who understands how my people value their honor. My directness has been in part because I seek to avoid the 'politeness' in your culture and get truth when I ask it. What I seek is companionship, but if you feel the need to lie to me, perhaps it is best we part ways, my other companion can provide me with those who would provide the...body heat?...which seems to be what you are willing to offer."
Smiley will place some money on the table, clearly inviting her to take it and leave, but not demanding she do so. He will make his face show hurt and sadness for her benefit.
(OOC: I figure some kind of social test is needed here, Con or Intimidate or something. Here it is:
12d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4211418/) Edge reroll of 11 dice 11d6.hitsopen(5,6)=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4211419/) 8 total
God, I am a scumbag :)
-
Your remark is met with an expression of surprise that stays for only a fraction of a second. "I'm terribly sorry if you believe I have deceived you, it was not my intention. I have tried to be honest with you. I wouldn't even think of lying to you, David-san."
-
"It is my job to know things and read people Makoto, if you do not want to share personal information say so plainly, but know that you do not have my resources, I can tell things about you that you think you keep hidden."
-
Makoto's expression immediately changes into one of surprise and confusion. "I don't understand what you're saying, David-san."
-
With basic searches coming up empty Kuren digs through the data havens looking for answers about Makoto's father.
Data Havens 2 + Intuition 5 + Qualia 1 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4211610/)
That doesn't look promising so time to call in some help.
/Quick_Message:[:stid:] = <Greetings omae. I could use some help digging up information on a person of interest. First name Makoto, surname either Kobayashi or Fumiko. I do know she works at a local establishment called The Venus Flower Trap. I'm looking for the girl's father but so far I've turned up empty handed. Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.>
/Reply_To: Smiley = <I'm working on it. If there's any way you could get a picture or ideally a SIN number it would be a great help.>
-
@ Kuren
Half a minute later, you receive a message from :stid:
"N0th1ng sh0ws up fr0m a qu1ck s34rch, but 1 w1ll k33p on l00k1ng."
-
Smiley will forward Kuren's message on to Mia and Jubei, figuring they could get a pic on their commlinks more easily than he could.
"I am saying that you are lying to me and I do not appreciate that. I understand privacy, but either answer my questions, be honest you do not want to or please do not waste my time. I think I have made my interest and generosity clear, but I have my standards." Smiley said in reply.
-
Mia yawns again, wondering to herself when this whole thing would be over. Behind the facade, she was stilll trying to shake off the incident with the women in the bar, but being snobbed like that... "...Haters gonna hate and all but those girls were going to have to pay." She had their faces and where they worked, shouldn't be too hard to make em "uncomfortable". "Yeah that'll be fun" She thought to herself, the glimmer of a smile playing across her lips.
<Smilez, we gonna kidnap the girl and get this done properly or we gonna keep wasting time?? I'm done with sitting around when we should be outta here by now!>
-
@Smiley
"I'm really sorry you think I'm lying David-san, but I am not. I don't want to run the risk of offending you" replies Makoto, as if rehearsed and said a million times. While she says that, the food and drinks arrive and the girls start eating the moment the plates hit the table.
-
@Kuren
:stid: sends you a message as you're leaving the house.
"H3r3's wh4t 1 f0und 0n th3 n4m3s y0u s3nt m3." Attached is a list of names and addresses, none of which match what you're looking for.
-
/Quick_Reply: [:stid:] = <Thank you omae. Hopefully this will help narrow things down.>
On his way out Kuren sets his suit to a plain black to match the wageslave look. As usual he walks a few blocks away before hailing a cab to the club. After a moment of thought he sends a message to J, <Would you like a ride J-san? I'm en route to the meet.>.
-
"It would be most appreciated Kuren-san, thank you." and J forwards an address for pick up.
On arrival, "How was your night Kuren-san?"
-
Kuren reroutes the cab to incorporate J's location. Once J gets in, "Ohayou J-san. My night was enjoyable, I was able to finish two chapters in my newest novel while waiting on the tests. I plan on telling the others all about it later so I'll spare you having to sit through it twice. Plus I'm still waiting on the results to be cross referenced. How was your night?"
-
"I had to sleep off the migraine that Spirit gave me. No offense to it meant, it was just more powerful than I'm used to. Have you dealt with many spirits while running?"
-
@Mia and Jubei
"It's not looking like I can shake her up, bad cop might be the way to go here. I don't want any surprises though, Mia can you assense the girls and the restaurant staff and let me know if you see anything unusual?"
-
Kuren nods, "I have seen a few in action. Quite handy. Though I understand the strain can be deadly. Did you get a good night's rest?"
His mind drifted back to his military service when he witnessed spirits do amazing and terrible things. Once J speaks again Kuren snaps back to the present.
-
"Yes, I'm fully recovered physically and mentally from it... To be honest though I have never summoned one so human like before, it was unnerving."
-
<Would if i could omae, but you know thats not how I roll. I'm ready to roll heavy tho so lets just turn this place inside out!!>
-
"At least you are well rested. It's important to maintain adequate performance. J-san, I must ask what do you think our next step should be? At least from a magical prospective."
-
"Well I can see if there is an astral signature the Johnson missed, but he seemed pretty confidant that it was too late and been through too many hands. Which i suppose is your problem too. If we find anything substantial, like from our male DNA donor, I could try another spirit. Otherwise I'm not a detection mage.. so it could rest on conventional tracking methods I'm afraid. Sorry if I am not being much help."
-
Smiley will put away the money and draw Makato in close, as if relenting to her claims and her charms and wishing for some intimacy. Putting his head right next to her ear, as if nuzzling it, he speaks quietly. "Okay lady, since you are going to play the ice queen bit to the hilt, let's test how cool you can be. Your mother, Mizuki Kobayashi is dead, poisoned, but made to look like natural causes. We are investigating her murder, and you may be next, we need to get you away from all of these babysitters and minders and try and find out what you know, we can try to protect you, but only if you cooperate."
Smiley does his best to prepare to subdue and restrain her if she tries to bolt. He is also ready to put her down if she really freaks.
-
"If it can be found by conventional means I have no doubt we will find what we are looking for. I am trained in both physical and digital tracking. No offense but I would prefer it if we do not have to rely on spirits for the investigation. Will you be able to perform your aura analysis while I'm using the device?"
-
"Yes, in fact I will be able to tell pretty quickly". J sighed. "I'm much more used to running security, not that i handled combat, just misdirection." J turned to Kuren and smiled "Thanks for not making me seem like a project like Smiley or looking like you want to kill someone like Pipebomb."
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Kuren answers J's smile with a warm one of his own, "You are most welcome. I assure you I do not share the malicious intent of our mutual acquaintance. Actually I'm glad you brought him up. I fear he plans on hurting a lot of innocent people and I've been considering what I should do about it. I do not wish to compromise the mission but something must be done. What are your thoughts about him?"
-
"Honestly?"... J switches to Japanese as if Pipebomb was nearby, " His aura terrifies me. There's nothing focused in it, he just seems filled with... Well let's say his name is apt. I guess it is worrying when he'll choose to release whats in him and whatever the target might be. Maybe it will be all right though, Huh? I mean we had the scuffle earlier, but he didn't just shoot me on sight right?"
-
"He's too smart to shoot someone in public but I bet he has not forgotten whatever slight set him off. I don't think he will simply fade into the shadows either. I mean why come to a country you so clearly dispise if not to cause trouble? "
-
"I guess so..." J slumps in his seat but seeing as they have almost arrived he straightens up and sighs again, shaking is head. "This may not be the best career move in history.. I really need to learn to defend myself better."
-
"Don't worry J-san, we will stop him before he hurts anyone." Kuren says with a smile, "I could teach you the basics of baton use." He pulls out his A-Z stun baton and holds it for J to see, "This model here is so powerful even a raging troll goes down after a few taps. Of course you'll need the proper license or risk confrontation with the authorities. "
-
"Thanks, that would be a great help. Hm, I have a Magical Security License, a fake obviously, it covers my sword so stun-batons might be too."
-
"Can you not defend yourself with the sword? Ah it must be for the image. Either way I do not mind teaching you what I can."
-
"Well I can use the sword somewhat.. But it is mostly to keep me safe on the streets. Sure i can stunbolt a mugger, but they cant tell i can. The sword they can see. Also I just want my bases covered, I cannot take the blade everywhere, even in Japan."
-
@Smiley
After you whisper in Makoto's ear, the utter look of confusion on her face makes you wonder for a moment if you have the right girl. Makoto picks herself up and says "How do you know my mother's name? Who are you, David-san?" as she pushes herself away from you. She says, loud enough for everyone in the small restaurant to hear, "How do you know my mother is dead?"
-
Fischer woke up fairly early for how late he went to bed. As he went about his morning routine, he pondered on how to deal with Kuren, *This pain in the ass has gotta go, and quick. My best course of action is to take him out in my first bombing, but that means I'll have to trail him for a few days, maybe even a couple of weeks. In the mean time, he could gather enough information on me to get the cops or even the military involved. Dammit! Why'd I have to get thrown onto a team with a runner/P.I. with a military background?!* Fischer sighed, *The way things are going, I won't be able to go Lone Wolf on this for long. I need to start making contacts with in anarchists circles, radical meta-rights groups, and the like. That will take months though, and doesn't help in the short term. Thus leading me back to square one and that thorn in my side.* Fischer briefly pondered that if he laid low, Kuren might lose interest, but rejected it, Kuren seemed like the dog-with-a-bone type. He tabled the planning for the moment and sent out a text to the team, <Any updates to the investigation?>
-
Smiley pulls her back, "Get smart girl, if they are after you too, do you really want to make a scene?" he says quietly, just for her. He looks at the others in the shop, trying to note if anyone might be close enough or have the mods to understand what he is saying to her.
"Language barrier." he says to the room.
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
The other two girls turn towards Smiley and Makoto, clearly confused as to what is happening, not sure what to do. They nervously look around, trying to find someone else besides your group in the restaurant, but the chef/owner is already in the kitchen cleaning something.
As Smiley pulls Makoto back towards him, everyone can clearly see she is not comfortable. She starts repeating "Let go" as she tries, unsuccessfully, to pull herself apart from Smiley. One of the other 2 girls gets up and says in a low voice "I have to go to the bathroom" as she heads to a door close to the kitchen entrance.
-
"Okay, please do not get stupid at this point." Smiley says quietly as he eases up a little on his grip on the girl, ready to clamp down again if she tries something. "Let's get moving" he tells the other two as he rises from the table and heads for the door.
Talking quietly to Makoto again as he walks her out, "We know about your mother because we are looking into her death, she was poisoned Makoto, and somebody with some pull wants to keep that quiet. We need to know who and why." Smiley is doing his best to sound soothing and relaxed, but is ready for her to try something.
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
You get up from your seat as the third girl, the one still present in the room, sees things unfolding and stares at Makoto with a look of both confusion and worry. She asks her friend "What is going on?" and before Makoto has time to answer Smiley drags her outside the restaurant, utensils dropping on the floor.
Once outside, Makoto struggles a bit, but it's nothing Smiley can't handle. She then says "This is not how things work here, David-san. You will get into trouble."
-
"Does it even bother you that your mother has been poisoned? Or did you already know?" Smiley says when they are on the street. He knows it is only going to be a matter of time until some kind of law enforcement shows up so he leads Makoto further down the street, opposite the way they came.
"Mia, any way you can give us some cover?"
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"She was a nuisance and never minding her own business" answers Makoto. "If someone was after her and they got her, then they won't be after me. I don't know anything."
-
"Dont cha know it, smilez" Mia calls forth another man Kami from its resting place in the heavenly realm, and asks its to hide them from sight.
Summon roll 12d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4217553/)
Spirit resist 4d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4217556/)
Drain resist 12d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4217559/)
Concealment 4 on mia, smilez, yaibei and makoto.
-
Makoto's words seem to genuinely shock Smiley, because they do. Mia might be the only one to realize that this would be the first time she had seen a natural uncontrolled emotion cross his face. It is gone a moment later, replaced by a completely neutral expression.
Seconds later, when he is sure that the spirit's magic had taken hold, the girl is bodily moved to the nearest wall, in a manner that would seem quite hard. While he seems to be acting in the manner of a person looking to engage in a little PDA, a close look actually reveals that he shifted his hold on the girl to effectively muffled her voice and apply pressure to her carotid artery. She goes limp a few seconds later, the neutral expression on Smiley's face is an iron mask.
(OOC: Since I already have her subdued, I will apply damage, at a 4S, until she goes out, should only take 3-4 actions and I get 2 passes per turn)
Shifting her to an easily carried form, Smiley calls Pipebomb and the others "Hey Kemo Sabe,our little girl needs a ride somewhere safe. Meet us a half a kilometer south of [insert business or intersection in immediate sight]"
-
Fischer replied to Smiley's message, <On my way.> He did a quick check to see where he was going, before heading out. He arrived at the designated spot as soon as morning traffic allowed him.
-
"Sounds like things could have gone better at the club..." J said to Kuren as he exited the cab and went to enter the Johnson's establishment with him.
-
@Pipebomb
You jump into your vehicle after reading your messages. You try to make your way to the coordinates you received, but find that your trip cost you about 45 minutes. (OOC: You'll arrive there around 7:00, so wait for my cue before posting anything)
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
You start walking towards your meeting spot, Smiley carrying Makoto's limp body. You notice the traffic is light, as it is only 6:30 in the morning, but you know it will get busier as the day advances.
-
"Alright ninja boy, this is your thang! So take point and make sure you give us a heads up if someone or somethigs coming at us. you know how to deal with electronic sruveillance?"
-
*hmm, this society is indeed strange, perhaps I should have stopped him from taking her...
" hai, on it, and other than keeping out of its sights? no, not really. "
-
3 int+ 4 perc+2 enhanced perception +3 goggles +3 actively looking.= 15
15d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4221886/)
same as above +2 for spec. for hearing. = 17
17d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4221887/)
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@Raiden
You keep an eye on the street, making sure nothing suspicious comes your way. After a few minutes, you notice a group of about 6 people running towards your position, one of them on a commlink talking to someone. You overhear "There's no one here, are you sure this is the place?" After a moment, he tells the others in the group to spread out and keep their eyes open.
-
Smiley doesn't respond to Mia. With the concealment in place, he is moving the unconscious girl as if they were drinking partners making their way to the next stop. He will make his way to the meet site, staying close to the others and keeping his eyes open.
-
@Smiley & Mia
Yaibei tries to get your attention. "I think we may have some company" whispers the ork, as he points to the group of guys looking around in the street. He then asks Mia "How effective is the concealment from your spirit?"
-
"The spirits mess with the senses little buddy but we ain't invisibale if thats what your asking"
-
@Smiley, Mia & Yaibei
One of the grunts tells the others "What the hell is that?" as he points in your direction. The others look at you and seem to have trouble seeing you at first, but it doesn't take long for them to spot you. The one who seems to be the leader of this "battalion" tells you to "Stay where you are" while the others go around you and circle you. Both Mia and Yaibei look at Smiley, Mia asking "What the fuck do we do now?" in English.
-
Mia steps forward, hands up, trying to wave back the guy comin g at them "Woah, woah, woah buddy. Whats your problem aye?"
-
"My problem, halfie, is that you're taking our girl by force and we don't like that" answers the man, his lackeys positioning themselves around your group. "Now let her go and we'll talk."
-
"YOUR girl? The young ladies with us and if you don't mind we are taking her home so she can sleep it off."
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"Don't take us for idiots" says one of the grunts, moving in closer to you. The leader continues with "You have two choices: you either listen to what we tell you or you don't."
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"Smilez, prop her up against the wall." Mia turns and squares up with the leader, bringing her face within inches of his. "Alright bub, talk"
-
If allowed to, Smiley will move the girl to a wall, preferably one close to an alleyway, and let's her limp form slide off of him to ground against the wall. He is ready to back Mia's play here, not quite trusting himself to speak at the moment.
-
@Smiley & Mia
Before Mia can get close enough to the leader, 2 grunts close in on her and block her way. They tell her "Don't try anything stupid."
Meanwhile, Smiley drops Makoto's limp body to the ground as there are no walls he can get to without being intercepted by someone. The leader of the group then gives an order and 2 different grunts move in to take care of the limp body.
-
Smiley stands over Mia, and assumes a defensive posture.
-
"Now, you can't just take our girls and hurt them like that, that's bad for business. You have to take responsibility for your actions" says the leader. He waits a moment before continuing "What will you do to make it up to us?"
-
"She is not hurt, and she will stay that way, she will also be well compensated for her time. We have some questions that need answered, and she has those answers."
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"We don't like the way you're asking your questions, gaijin" answers one of the thugs. The leader raises his hand, a sign that the thug should let him talk. He continues with "She won't be answering your questions, not now, not ever. You need to come with us, you have to make this situation right." While talking, the two grunts closest to Makoto pick her up and start carrying her away.
Yaibei looks at Smiley and asks him in a low voice "They're taking her away, do you want me to stop them?"
-
Yaibei's question answers itself as Smiley moves on the now-encumbered thugs.
Agility Boost (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4245322/)
Sweep attack w/killing hands power activated
Agility 4 + Boost 2 + Unarmed Combat 6 + Superior position(?) 2 (14d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4245331/)
Edge to reroll failures
13d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4245332/)
4 hits total. Target is knocked down unless Body is higher than 8 minus his hits, base damage is 7P + net hits
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"Oh Fuck!!" As soon as Smiley pulls away from Mia's back she drops back a step to stay close to Yaibei and Smiley and lets the mojo flow thru her viens.
Cast Imp Reflexes (F4) = 14d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4245752/)
Resist Drain (DV4) = 12d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4245763/)
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@Smiley, Mia
Smiley sweeps one of the two grunts taking Makoto away and sends him flying a few feet away to the sound of cracking bones. Yaibei, seeing Smiley's action, moves on the second grunt and, pulling a small blade out of nowhere, stabs the second grunt closest to Makoto with it. A crimson stream spills out onto the street, the victim clutching his side as the woman's limp body hits the pavement. One of the henchmen that were closer to Mia moves on Smiley, taking a stun baton to him.
Mia starts singing while another of the henchmen pulls out a blade and goes for her. The last grunt makes an attempt on Yaibei, pulling out a blade as well, but Yaibei easily dodges it. The leader takes out a taser and shoots at Mia, but in the commotion misses wide.
Smiley, resist one hit from the stun baton.
Mia, resist 2 hits from the blade.
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two rolls for dodge 5d6.hits(5)=1, 5d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4246067/)
two rolls for soak 12d6.hits(5)=4, 12d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4246069/)
(OOC. Where did the second balde attack come from?)
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9d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4246141/)
-
Smiley smoothly parries the arm carrying the stun baton, using it as a pivot point to Sweep this thug as well, delivering an crushing elbow into his chest to increase the punishment.
Agility 4 + Boost 2 + Unarmed Combat 6 + Counterstrike 1 + Net Hits from block 3 = (16d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4246178/)
Target is knocked down unless Body is higher than 9 minus his hits, base damage is 7P + net hits
-
Yaibei turns around and sets his aims on the grunt closest to him. With a flick of the wrist, he cuts the man on his forearm, causing him to drop his knife to the ground in a pool of blood.
-
Mia spins like a startled cat, eyes wide and teeth bared. She feels the world slow to a crawl, everything moving with exagerated slowness, and moves to keep that balde at bay. As the beat drives on, a lyric plays in her ears and she screams like a banshee...
"CUT OFF HIS HEAD"
Mia points at the leader of the pack as the wieght of her words tears from her lungs like the shockwave from a wall of sound!
Mia is using commanding voice on the grunts, ignoring the leader (her target) and those that are downed (on the ground and stabbed). She uses voice control to mimic the sound of the leaders voice (don't know if that would add extra dice but it seems logical to tap at there insticitive nature. will just leave it as the cha+leadership roll
Commanding voice 10d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4246878/)
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The two grunts suddenly freeze after Mia's scream. They both seem to be under the effect of something, and Smiley uses that confusion to hit the one closest to him and sending him flying across the pavement. The leader of the gang, seeing his team getting decimated so quickly, backs away and tells the others to retreat. "You better remember me" says the man as he flees the scene, everyone running away. You quickly notice the street has completely emptied, everyone running away from the commotion.
-
Smiley moves to grab Makato again, "Mia, can you whip up a stronger spirit?" he says as he hoists the girl over his shoulder and starts to jog to where he instructed Pipebomb to meet them.
-
"Someone to protect us and help us haul outta here... We need a roadie!"
Mia brings forth a F5 Spirit of Man with Sound Wave as innate
Summon Roll 12d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4248836/)
Spirit Resist 5d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4248837/)
Drain DV2 12d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4248838/)
-
@Mia & Smiley
Mia, in a flurry of acapella music and swearing, summons a spirit, dismissing the one that was there before. Although the spirit does not speak, Mia hears it asking her for her request.
Meanwhile, Smiley takes the limp body of the girl that had fallen on the ground and starts jogging with it, Yaibei in tow.
-
@Pipebomb
You arrive to the location that was indicated to you and, after a few moments, see Smiley, Mia and Yaibei with a fourth person seemingly sleeping in Smiley's arms.
-
Fischer rolled down the window, "What's the rundown?"
-
"You want this in the seat or the trunk? We will need to find place to go where we know she will answer some questions." Smiley says, no hint of a happy note in his voice, it is worth noting.
-
"Seat, this place is too public to stuff her in the trunk."
-
Smiley puts the girl in the car and tells the team "We should meet up with the others and figure what we need to do. Keep an eye on her Pipe, she is a hostile witness, but no breakage, understood?" Then Smiley will begin to take a winding path back to his bike.
-
Fischer nodded to Smiley, "Figure out a meet point, and I'll be there." He quickly left the area, taking truly random turns and backtracks.
-
"Let me know if you need me, I need a beer and a nap!"
Mia takes off towards Tav's. After staching her bike around back, she stumbles her way in thru the back, waving down the probie star sittin in the store room and slumping onto the first stool at the bar. McTavish is doing the early morning clean and getting the Caf Machine heated up and doesn't even spare Mia a second glance.
"Tavish, I got two probelms. One, I dont have a beer in my hand. Two... This job you got me." She shakes her head "I don't know man..."
-
@Mia
McTavish takes one of the glasses freshly cleaned and pours Mia a fresh one, with just the right amount of head. Tokyo is always humid, so condensation quickly forms on the clear glass, giving the beer a certain appeal that only an all-nighter can fuel. He gets a coaster and sets the tall glass in front of Mia, asking her "What's wrong with this one?" while going back to his chores.
-
"You of all people know my gig Tav. This just don't feel right, some bad bad mojo, you dig! I'm mean corp cover-ups, people gettin hit... poisoned even! Not to mention this "Crew" i'm workin with... man, infighting and bitching. If you thought there was something in this, should just pulled together the stars and we could rolled on it proper. I just dont think i'm cut out for this cloak a dagger shit." Mia stops and shakes her head, staring sadly down at the drink in her hand. Reluctantly her hand brings the glass to her lips and she pulls down a massive gulp of amber liquid. "Tav...." the word falls from her lips and sadness fills her eyes. The silence following her words hangs still in the air...
"You gonna finish that luv?"
Head back, the ale is soon gone and with an almighty crack the glass comes to rest on the counter. "Tavish, you gotta tell me, what it is your hoping to get out of this?"
-
"You mean besides the immediate pay check" answers McTavish with a sly smile in the corner of his mouth. He takes a moment to look at Mia seriously and says "I'm hoping eventually you'll be able to take care of yourself and of the others." he quickly goes back to cleaning the place.
-
"Alright. Let me know if you need anything else..." And with that Mia leaves the bar and heads home. Throwing herself onto the bed and kicking off her boots, one last thought ran thru her head as she drifted off to sleep "I wonder what that crazy old man really wants..."
-
@Pipebomb & Smiley
You drive around, making sure nobody is tailing you before settling on a quiet location. There aren't many abandoned buildings in Neo-Tokyo, but you manage to find a mostly empty parking lot far enough from any main roads and decide to wait.
-
After finding a relatively safe spot to park, Fischer called Smiley, "So, what happened?"
-
"I tried to sweet talk the intel I needed from her, she played hardass a little too much and said something she shouldn't have, so now we gotta work on her another way." said Smiley as he wound through random morning traffic. "We need to treat her delicately though, I don't know if you have done the math yet, but this girl could be the reason our Johnson and the dead lady haven't kept in touch."
-
"Got it, knives, blowtorches and car batteries are out. Call me back when you have a place where we can do this." Fischer hung up, and sent Smiley a text, <Can't talk openly with Ninja Ninja here. I found out that his sensei is the one that hired the Jay as an intermediary. If your theory is correct, watch your back around the orc.>
-
@Kuren & J
Your taxi drops you off in front of the club where you were yesterday night. The place looks completely different in the light of day. It seems sunlight has a way of sobering things up in a way nothing else can. Although the place is clean and ready for tonight, the feeling is just not the same with an empty dance floor.
You go through the usual security hoopla though and are quickly led to the "kitchen" area where someone is waiting with what seems an almost brand-new commlink for you. After a few words, you take the piece of equipment carefully and are already outside in a very narrow alleyway.
-
After hearing the door shut behind them Kuren smiles at J and gives him a thumbs up, "Yatta! Follow me J-san and we'll give this com a twice over." He heads out back on to the street leaning lightly on his cane. He can't help but check the many news feeds he's subscribed to on the way to on the way to the subway. Kuren pays for J's fare without him even asking and he leads them back to HQ so they can inspect the com in private.
-
"Oh Kuren-san, are we going to your place? T-Thank you!" He was surprised to be being taken to a teammates place, whether their home or not, so soon. "I do hope we can find something.. Ah I do not think I will try summoning such a strong spirit again though."
-
Smiley sends a text to Max, his fixer:
<Max- Need a rental on a roof and a ride, no frills on either, for, say 72 hours. Roof needs to be lacking in questions and with neighbors that mind their own business, prefer a vehicle entrance. Ride for 6 plus cargo, needs a decent Pilot rating.>
-
Kuren smiles, "We are going to my headquarters so I can thoroughly inspect the com. You should not strain yourself, reason and logic shall prevail. One way or another I believe we will find something. "
-
@Smiley
After a few minutes, you get an answer on your commlink.
"No questions is going to cost you money. Give me an hour and I'll get back to you."
-
Smiley will head for Jodie's, picking up breakfast for two on the way, to wait for the call back from his fixer.
-
@Smiley
At around 10:35, you get a message on your link:
"Found you a place and a ride. The place is yours for 48 hours but it's ¥75 up front plus any damages. The ride is an older 7 seater and for ¥50 plus damages it's yours for 72 hours. I'll forward you the addresses and the codes when you send me the money."
-
One back to HQ Kuren takes the com back to the lab but will allow J to check it astrally before trying to hack through its defenses.
-
Smiley will tranfer the funds and then, upon receiving the address, tranmit it to the team requesting they meet him there to compare notes. He will proceed to the location, and after taking stock of what is available, make sure the place has some minimal supples for the task of concealing, restraining and interrogating Makato, as well as a few minimal but necessary creature comforts: food, water, soap, towels, chairs, liquor, not necessarily in that order.
-
J wasn't sure he would be able to find anything but checked in case anything stood out.
Assensing (8d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4257322/)
-
@ Smiley
You get an address almost instantly after you transfer the funds and make your way across town to it. You arrive to one of the less glamorous parts of Neo-Tokyo, where some of the buildings have been abandoned. Nonetheless, certain people still live in the area, paying rent and still (somewhat) maintaining their living quarters.
The apartment you are given is on the first floor of an older building. The codes that were transfered to you open the maglock into a small, minimally kept room that has both a kitchen area, a futon and an older Trideo in one corner. A small door in the corner reveals a toilet, but no shower. It doesn't take you long to make an inventory of the place and find everything you need except for food and liquor.
@J & Kuren
You get back to HQ and set yourselves up. J dives into the Astral while Kuren makes the final preparations for a proper Matrix investigation.
A look at the commlink reveals a few auras, 5 in fact, some stronger than others, but none of them are the aura you felt yesterday. One of the auras you quickly recognize as your Johnson.
-
After reading Smiley's message, Fischer made his way to the address given. He told the ork, "Smiley found us a place to interrogate the woman."
-
@Pipebomb
Yaibei, looking up from his commlink, answers "Good. I have to go though, some other matter to attend to though. If you can just leave me here, I'll find my way to the closest station" and quickly gets out of the van as soon as you stop. You continue on by yourself to the address where you find a spot in a paid parking lot not far from the building.
-
"The Johnson was right, it's been through at least 5 auras, no sign of the girls. But if i see one again during the investigation, I should recognize it. It is all yours."
-
"Well hopefully it will prove useful. Make yourself at home J-san. It will probably take me a few hours to thoroughly investigate the comlink. Feel free to get some food, brew some soykaf, or use my facilities if you'd like. The bathroom is down the hall on the left." Kuren makes sure that J is comfortable before sitting down in his favorite chair and jacking the com into his datajack.
Programs Running:
Firewall Rating 5
Analyze Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Armor Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
Browse Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Edit Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
Encrpyt Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Exploit Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Ergonomic, Registration]
Scan Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
Stealth Rating 5 [Copy Protection 5, Registration]
Probing the firewall so it's 1 hour intervals, aiming for Admin access so Threshold is Firewall + 6.
Hacking 3 + Exploit 5 = 8d6 - Hour 1
8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4258534/)
Hacking 3 + Exploit 5 = 8d6 - Hour 2
8d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4258535/)
Hacking 3 + Exploit 5 = 8d6 - Hour 3
8d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4258536/)
Hacking 3 + Exploit 5 = 8d6 - Hour 4
8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4258541/)
I believe that should cover it and I'll go ahead and throw in a Matrix Perception.
Data Search 3 + Analyze 5 = 8d6
8d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4258544/)
-
J almost runs to the bathroom as soon as Kuren's attention is elsewhere.
-
Fischer messaged Smiley, <Parked near the building, you got a way of getting the girl inside unnoticed? Also, the ninja dipped. He had "other matters to attend to.">
-
Smiley joins Pipebomb at his car, and, acting completely naturally, picks Makato out of the seat and says to the driver, loud enough to be overheard if anyone cared. "Let's get her inside so she can finish sleeping it off." Then he starts heading back for the hideout.
He is very aware that girl could be faking still being out, and is ready to put her out again if he needs to.
-
Fischer followed Smiley inside, "We gonna be here long enough that I should booby trap the place? And what's your take on the ork being an errand boy for the guy that set up this run?"
-
@Kuren
You dive into the Matrix and start doing your thing. From the looks of things, this commlink is fresh off the shelf and nothing has been done to beef up its security. Within an hour and a half, you're in with Admin privileges.
@Smiley & Pipebomb
You get Makoto's limp body out of the van and into the apartment. You get her into the chair and tie her up with the rope you just bought. It seems she hasn't yet come around, so you unpack the goods you bought at the store.
-
Smiley gets the girl into the chair and starts to tie her up as he replies, "It doesn't surprise me, I haven't been in the shadows very long, but from what I hear, if your Johnson says he is telling you everything there is to know up front, he is probably lying, or he doesn't know much at all." Smiley makes sure her hands, feet and chest are secured to the chair. When finished he steps back to check his work and looks for approval of his efforts from the explosives guy before continuing. "One good thing about it, if this girl is our Johnson's love child, we will probably know soon if Jubei got called back to the home office. I wouldn't sweat it too much beyond that though. I wonder where the others are?"
-
Fischer looked the woman over, "If you think she could be slippery, you should secure her elbows too. That way it won't matter if she can get her hands free. Gagging her would also be a good idea." He then shrugged, "No clue, Kuren's probably still analyzing the forensics, but as for the others..." He turned back to the woman, "Better question though, is how do we play this? If she is our employer's kid, doubt he'd like it if I strapped her to a car battery. The old tried and true good cop/bad cop? Though I'm guessing your the one that knocked her out, so I doubt you could play good cop. Maybe bad cop/psycho cop? I do still have the grenades in my car."
-
"I don't think I want to do anything more than scare her a bit at the moment, we already pulled her out of her element. She is probably going to be ready to start talking as soon as she wakes up." Smiley pulled out his comm and called the others this time, to ensure he got a response.
-
*No logs, no calls, no contacts, and a welcome message dated after ToD.* Kuren updates the case file denoting the com as an unused burner. An icon of an old-fashioned phone rang out and flashed in his AR.
He establishes a vid call and greets Smiley with a smile, "Ohayōgozaimasu Smiley-san. How was your evening?"
-
"It is still continuing, though this is probably the first time I have said that and it not been a good thing. I am at a safe house, you guys need to head over here so we can all compare notes and get on the same page." Smiley will send along the address and passcodes.
-
"Sounds like a good idea. J-san and I will be there shortly."
Kuren ends the call and turns to J, "That was Smiley, he has a safehouse where we need to meet up and discuss the investigation thus far. Want to stop for lunch on the way?" As he's talking he slides on his trench coat, shoves the baton in a pocket and puts on his hat.
-
"Sure! That sounds great!" During the matrix investigation J had time to run his clothes through a quick wash too, and looks, for the first time in a while, half way presentable. He enthusiastically follows Kuren outside. "So whats good around here?"
-
"There is a fantastic noodle cart just a few blocks down, right by the subway entrance. We'll swing by on our way." Kuren leads the way to the cart and orders a few extra cups for the others, *From the sounds of it Smiley could use some food.* During the journey he checks his news feeds again, seeing if any of the mornings stories had been updated and reading through any new interesting articles.
Upon arriving and seeing Pipebomb's car outside Kuren stops and signals J to stop. "One second J-san. Let's take a little preventative measure while the opportunity presents itself." He pulls out a stealth RFID tag and programs it to send it's coordinates to an encrypted channel and he kneels down next to the back bumper of the car. Reaching up underneath he attaches the tag to the frame of the vehicle.
He stands, brushes off his pants, and turns back to J, "Shall we then?"
-
"You sure he wont just find that and... well... kill us all?" J helped carry the noodle bowls, and keeps them safe while he plants his bug.
-
"I can not say for sure but it would give me peace of mind. Even if he does find it I highly doubt he's skilled enough to trace it to us. It'll be ok and if not others will tell our story." Kuren smiles and holds the door open for J to enter.
-
"I think I will keep hoping we get to tell all the stories," he smirks as he enters. "Arigatou"
-
Smiley prepares for the arrival of the others by carefully covering the eyes and ears of their captive. He sees no reason to expose everyone on the team to possible description. He gags as well, but loosely so as not to cause her to choke.
When the others arrive, he gratefully takes a bowl and says in reference to their captive "Gentlemen, this is Makato, daughter of the late Mizuki Kobayashi . We believe she may have some information about her mother's 'nosiness.'"
-
"Shit.. Smiley i thought you were just going to talk to her? Now we've kidnapped someone?" J managed to not drop the bowls while handing them out and kept giving concerned looks to the captive.
-
Kuren stops a few steps in from the door and stands wide eyed and slack jawed, clearly sharing in J's surprise. After a moment he says to Smiley keeping his voice low, "I am usually not one to second guess a specialist but are you sure this is wise? Was there no other way? I guess it's too late now, what's your interrogation strategy? "
-
Fischer shook his head at J, "You're afraid to take on megas, and have a problem with kidnapping? You really should reconsider your line of work. God only knows how bad you'll fold when you have to kill someone. Anyway, Smiley thinks the woman may also be the daughter of the man that's organized this run, so the...more direct methods of interrogation are out. We're still deciding on a strategy. I still like bad cop - Smiley, psycho cop - me. Though with you here Kuren, you could be the good cop to Smiley's bad."
-
"It was not my preferred method of intel gathering either, but she left us with little choice. I would like to confer with Mia too before we go any further, but she hasn't responded yet." Smiley gives Pipebomb a look, "His idea may be the one to go with, but I was hoping you had turned up something before we went down that road, or you could at least find some record of the girl's biological father BEFORE we potentially piss them off."
-
@Smiley, Pipebomb, Kuren & J
You are eating your noodles in the small apartment when you start hearing some small moans accompanied by some rustling. Makoto is waking up and is panicked. She starts to move around for a few moments before realizing that she is tied. The piece of cloth wrapped around her eyes gets wet around the eyes and you can clearly tell she's crying, as mucus dribbles down her nose. She is trying to fight sobs the best she can, but is having a hard time. She pulls herself together and finds the courage to ask out loud "Is someone there?"
-
Seeing the girl begin to move Kuren switches the conversation to their encrypted channel but is looking square at Pipebomb, To All: <Unless you have experience with interrogation it would probably be best if you do let me play 'good cop' as you put it.> He actually does the air quote with his fingers. <If she's your typical young lady I'm sure she will respond much better to the good cop bad cop strategy than a complete psychopath, no offense Pipebomb.>
Kuren then turns to Smiley but stills send the message for all to read, <I identified a male's DNA from the samples but it could take days to run it through the databases to find a match. Even if we know who was in that apartment it does not mean that man is the father. I suggest you proceed as if she is our employer's daughter but I can not say either way at this point. I also highly suggest you let me play good cop. Would you like to start or should I?>
-
Fischer merely shrugged at Kuren's comment, <@All: You and Smiley are the people...people...persons? Anyway, I don't care how we do this, as long as it gets us the information. Though, for the record, threatening to shove a grenade in someone's mouth and pull the pin gets most everyone talking.>
He also sent a private message to Smiley, <@Smiley: Think we should clue the others in about the ninja? I doubt J will be able to keep it from slipping that we know, and I really, really doubt that Mia can.>
-
Kuren cuts a look to Pipebomb as his contacts and glasses flicker with AR displays. <It's been noted for the record.> He then turns to J, <Can you make us look different like you did to yourself during the meeting? Mia's assistance would be helpful about now. If we don't act fast we may have to render her unconscious again.>
-
Smiley gives a head shake to Pipebomb in answer to his question and waves him out of sight, he also waves J away from doing disguise on him, shooshing him over to Kuren. Then he walks over and carefully removes the covering from one of Makato's ears. He leans in close ready to clamp a hand over her mouth if she screams and speaks very calmly with a hint of menace, "Hello Makato, you are safe, as I promised. How safe you remain is up to you, do not scream and do not struggle, do you understand?"
-
As Smiley uncovers one of Makoto's ear, she immediately jerks back and starts crying. Not the kind of loud crying most people see though; this is crying only a handful of people have ever seen. It's the terrified kind of crying, the one when someone has given up and both regret and sorrow take over.
You can tell Makoto's hearing just fine, but she is not listening to what Smiley is telling her at all. She is most probably thinking about her life, regretting certain decisions and reliving strong emotional moments, all the while quietly crying.
-
Fischer pulled out the pack of cigarettes he bought the night before. He placed one in his mouth before offering one to J and gesturing, with his head, towards the door.
-
Kuren takes out a handkerchief and walks over to the girl. As he wipes the tears from her face he calmly and warmly says, "Calm down dear it's going to be alright. We just have a few questions. Can you be brave and answer our questions?"
-
It takes a few moments for Makoto to get a grip but she answers, confused, "Why am I here? What did I do?"
-
"Pay attention joygirl! I said you were safe, that is ALL you need to know. As for what you did, well that remains to be seen, for starters you made a scene and gave us trouble we don't need, you start talking maybe we forget about that." Smiley is keeping the menace in his voice, but keeping the volume low.
-
"I'll tell you everything I know, just don't hurt me" answers Makoto, still visibly scared. "I just work for them, so I don't know much though. But I'll tell you everything I know if you don't hurt me."
-
Kuren mentally messages Smiley, <Keep going she seems to be responding well. Make sure to ask her about the victim's antique camera and comlink. The one found with the body was purchased post mortem. >
-
"Well I do not really have a problem with you doing it... Just that I hope this isn't spiraling out of control.. especially if she is who you just said she might be.."
Once Makoto wakes up, "Sure It would be pretty eas-" but is cut off by Smileys shooing. If kuren still wants a make over he will whip up a physical mask for him by tapping him on the shoulder.
"I don't smoke but thanks." He heads outside the door with Pipebomb anyway, not much use in an interrogation right now.
Force 4 Physical Mask on Kuren if he still wants it, will make him look like a tall, pale skinned human, still ob Japanese descent but not of the same features as kuren. DV is 3 (15d6.hits(5)=4, 9d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4263023/) No drain
-
Kuren willingly accepts the masking spell and bows to J in a silent 'Arigato.'
-
Fischer took care to make as little noise as possible as he exited. Once outside he lit up and exhaled heavily, "You ever work a run involving dead exes and kids before? Cause this is probably gonna get real messy, real quick. Hell, that's probably the whole reason I'm here. Once we figure out who killed the woman, I'm betting I'm the one that's gonna be returning the favor."
-
Smiley gives a head shake to Kuren, waving off the suggestion, it was just too early for that detail, and the investigator didn't know what Makato's job was.
"I am not talking about your fraggin' pimps girl! I told you we were looking into your mother's death, get your head straight and tell us about her!"
-
Makoto pauses, thinking for a moment before saying "I'll tell you anything you want, just don't hurt me."
-
"No I haven't but i certainly cannot argue with your train of thought."
-
Fischer looked J straight in the eyes with a dead(ly) serious look, "Right, so how new to the Shadows are you? Like I said, this run is gonna get dirty fast. I need to know you can handle it. If you fold at the wrong moment, we're all dead."
-
"As new as I can be I guess. I wont fold. There isn't anything I can do to prove that to you though." J stretched his arms up behind his head then put them back at his sides.
-
Smiley motions for Kuren to come in and play good cop.
He mouths the words MOM and MOTHER to him
-
Kuren nods and speaks up in a calm and warming voice, "Tell us about your mother, Makato, and please be thorough the sooner our questions are answered the sooner we can get you cleaned up and back home safely."
-
"My mother?" asks Makoto, surprised. "What do you want to know about her?"
-
"We want to know everything... start with the basics. You know profession, hobbies, friends." Kuren tries prompting the girl in hopes that this won't get any rougher on her.
-
"I don't see her often anymore" answers Makoto. "Since she took that contract with Renraku, she comes to the apartment only on weekends. During the week, she stays at her apartment in the city. She told me her boss at Renraku, Ishihara-san, helped her find it. She likes to take vintage photographs as a hobby."
-
"Hmmm... mmhmmm..." Kuren nods as she speaks, "So where is your mother's apartment in the city? How long ago did she enter into a contract with Renraku? What kind of vintage camera does she use? These are the kind of details we need to know Makato."
Kuren mentally opens the case file, ready for any new information to add.
-
"I don't know where her apartment is, she never took me there and refused to talk about it" answered the Japanese woman. "Maybe Ishihara-san could tell you where it is. She started working for Renraku about 2 years ago." Makoto pauses for a second before following with "I think the camera she used was an old Canon."
-
"Don't put us off on someone else, you said she was nosy, what was she nosy about?" Smiley snaps in, "You want this to end you have to give us what we are looking for."
-
You can see Makoto jerk back a little out of surprise. "She is just nosy in general, that's what I meant. I swear, she never told me anything about her work" says the scared woman.
I'm going to need an intimidation roll here.
-
"What sort of things did she photograph? Were there any photos recently she was exceptionally excited or worried about? Do you know where she had the film developed? Old equipment like that needs much more care than modern technology, surely she had a trusted vendor she frequented."
Knives shrugs and messages Smiley, <If every detail must be dragged from her individually this could take days. We may have to turn up the heat a bit.>
-
Makoto quickly says She always went to a shop in Shimokitazawa to get her pictures developed. And I don't know about any pictures she might have taken recently, I haven't spoken to her in a few days. The last time I saw her was for lunch back at the apartment. And even then we didn't speak much."
-
Kuren sighs, "The details Makato... we need details... What is the name of the shop?" He pauses for a few seconds as if pondering his next question, "Who else was there for lunch for lunch that day?"
-
"This damn girl is useless, here we are going to all this trouble and she is worthless, we should just dump her and let them kill her." says Smiley, "Who the hell is Ishihara."
-
"The shop's name is "Kubota Camera" in Shimokitazawa" answers the bound woman. Upon hearing Smiley's comments, she visibly panics and says "I'm telling you everything I know, I swear" before sobbing again. "Ishihara is her superior at Renraku" says Makoto between sniffles.
-
Kuren updates his file with the name and district of the camera shop. He nods to Smiley, <Keep pushing. She ignored my question about the male in the apartment. I'm not sure how much more we'll get from her. What's the plan once we're done?>
Running a search for the camera shop.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4270471/)
-
@Kuren
It doesn't take long for you to locate "Kubota Camera" in the Matrix. A quick look tells you this node is not at the forefront of technology and it seems to be more a mom-and-pop shop than a serious business. You see they cater to very old camera models, and are also licenced to develop photos the old-fashioned way.
-
"Is that the man from your apartment? I thought he got her to live somewhere else, lets keep the lies straight Makato!" thunders Smiley. To Kuren he notes back <We should keep pushing her, but I think you are right, she might not know much more and we need to check on what she has told us. We really need to know who her dad is before we let her go, she could really be in danger>
-
Makoto seems confused. "What man? There is no man living with us, you have to believe me" says the frightened woman.
-
"Is that the man from your apartment? I thought he got her to live somewhere else, lets keep the lies straight Makato!" thunders Smiley. To Kuren he notes back <We should keep pushing her, but I think you are right, she might not know much more and we need to check on what she has told us. We really need to know who her dad is before we let her go, she could really be in danger>
<Agreed. I found the camera shop but there's not much I can do to confirm Renraku employment without trying to get in one of their databases. I can double check her DNA against the one's found in the apartment but think we are fairly solid on the fact that she is. Keep pushing about the father, she's clearly trying to dodge the questions with small inaccuracies.>
-
"Really? What are you a test tube baby? There is no man at your apartment, who is your father then?" Smiley snarls at the girl.
-
"I don't know who my father is, my mother only told me that he left us before I was born. He only gave me this pendant before he left" answers Makoto. "Why do you want to know this? Why are you doing this to me? What did I do to you?"
-
Smiley gets in real close very quietly before he says in a barely controlled whisper of pure rage "You DO NOT ask the questions, you just answer them." When he does so he lokks at the pendant she mentions.
-
@Smiley
Makoto jerks back, with another round of sobs overtaking her. You look at the pendant around her neck and realize it probably has more sentimental value than actual value.
-
Following Smiley's lead Kuren leans in to take a look at the pendant and runs a search on the design.
Perception 5 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 1 + Attention Coprocessor 2 + Qualia 1 + Visual enhancement 3 + actively looking 3 = 20d6.
20d6.hits(5)=10 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4276533/)
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4276534/)
IC is feeling generous tonight :)
"Calm yourself Makato. Please just try to answer our questions as thoroughly as possible. Who has the other person at that lunch with your mother?"
-
"Another person at lunch with my mother? I don't know what you're talking about" says the blindfolded woman.
@Kuren
You take a look at the pendant and notice it's nothing special. Although it does have an unusual design, it doesn't seem unique enough to track it down to a particular maker/vendor.
-
After finishing off his third cigarette in a row, Fischer sent a text to Kuren, <@Kuren: J and I are just sitting here with our thumbs up our asses. Your analysis turn up any leads we can track while you two do your thing?>
-
//Quick_Reply_To:Pipebomb <My apologies Pipebomb-san the girl either does not know much about her mother at all or she's incredibly well trained. The only real piece of information we've gathered is the name and location of the shop our victim used to develop her antique camera film. Though to be honest I do not think it's a job for your skill set. Perhaps you could see if Mia is responsive yet.>
-
Fischer replied, <@Kuren: Very well. Give me the address of the shop, I'll get Mia on it.> After getting the address he sent a text off to Mia, <@Mia: This is the address of the camera shop the victim used. It's our only lead at the moment and we need a people person to check it out. I'll meet you there as backup.> He turned to J, "I'm gonna back Mia up at the shop. That leaves you in charge of security here, don't frag it up." WIth that Fischer left to meet Mia.
-
"Oh, Security? That's what we were doing?.. I'm kidding, kidding! Goodluck." J raised his hands in defeat before even gauging pipe's reaction and leant against the wall.
-
"Oh shit..." With a wave of her hand Mia canceled the msg alert on her comm and draged it off the bedside table.
"mmm.. hmm... hmph. Alright girl, this should be easy enough" Rolling out of bed and stumbling into the kitchen, Mia fires off a reply
<Right on PB, you got anymore inof on this place. Im thinking a bit of flirt to subvert but i'll need some more info if we wanna stand half a chance. Find out who works there, maybe any sick intrests, prolly up the spy boys alley if he's got a second, and any over goss that may be handy, aight?>
And that should give me enough time for the a good ole shower and kaf...
-
<@Kuren: Mia has requested further information pertaining to the camera shop. Forward all relevant data.>
-
Kuren forwards all the information he turned up on the camera shop to Mia and Pipebomb then looks to Smiley, <I don't think she knows much else about her family, sad really. Mia and Pipebomb are going to check out the camera shop. What are we going to do with her?>
-
Smiley motions to Kuren, essentially saying, 'I got it'.
He then slips up to Makato and replaces the gag quickly. He then leans close to her ear and, in a much softer tone than he has used so far, speaks to her, "I promised you wouldn't be hurt and you won't be, I keep my promises. Be still for a while longer, your part is done, we have to do ours now and then you can be on your way."
He removes the pendant from her neck and replaces the ear cover.
Motioning Kuren to follow he goes to speak with J, "If I am right about this, then someone needs to speak to Mr. Johnson about this necklace. We should set up a meet, I think once the others hit this camera shop, if they do it right, we will have enough to bring to him."
-
"All right, sounds like a plan. So what did you learn? Is she doing okay?" J puts his hands in his pockets and keeps glancing around the hall while they talk, taking security seriously.
-
Kuren follows Smiley outside and nods as he speaks with J. "Hopefully they will uncover some good information. We still have two big questions to be answered. What happened to her vintage camera and who was the man in our victim's apartment that day? If Mr. Johnson would consent to a DNA swab I could know within a few hours if they are related but I doubt he would be comfortable with that. It negates the secrecy inherent in our line of work."
He looks to J when he expresses concern for the girl, "She is all right J-san. If we're done with our questions I will go patch her up before we drop her off. Unfortunately she has had very limited interactions with her family and doesn't seem to know much about her mother and knows nothing at all of her father. I hope Smiley's hunch is correct and we can reunite her with her father." Kuren's eyes drop to the ground, clearly concerned for the poor girl.
-
@ Smiley & Kuren
Makoto jumps as you put the gag on her once more. A fresh batch of tears wet the already drenched blindfold, as you hear muffled sobs coming from her.
-
"We aren't going to be dropping her off until we have concluded our business. I have this safe house for 48 hours."
-
A stern look befalls Kuren's face, "Not the most ideal circumstances but if that's the case we will make sure she is properly fed and cared for, we can't just leave her here. Do we have any noodles left?"
-
Stepping out of the shower, Mia notices the return messages.
This won't cut it...
<Kuren, thank for that info but what I really need is any dirt you can grab on whoever works there. Names and faces would help, titles would be good and even better would be any dirt. Anything i could use to put together a decent cover>
And now 3 minutes for a kaf and i might even be able use some of the stuff that gumshoe digs up
-
Smiley looks at Kuren, a grin of derision on his face, "She is not going to be mistreated Kuren, and I laid in plenty of food, so relax." Smiley takes a closer look at the pendant, looking for a catch or an inscription.
-
Kuren perks an eyebrow at Mia's message then runs a search cross referencing the owners names, the name of the shop, and local news databases. Any results he will forward to Mia.
Checking for any occurrences of the owners or the shop in local news or reports of criminal activity in the neighborhood. Also searching customer reviews of the shop for any extremely irate reviews.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4293471/)
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@Kuren
You do a quick search of the owner and any related criminal activities and/or news articles. Unfortunately, you come up empty-handed, and it seems nothing has happened with the shop in a long time (the last bit of information was a news article published 5 years ago about this being one of the last shops in Neo-Tokyo to print photos.
@Smiley
I'll need a perception roll
-
Kuren sighs and sends a response to Mia, <I'm sorry I was unable to find anything other than a five year old article stating they still develop photographs. Just go see if the owners or clerks know of the victim, possibly the last time she was in. Maybe see if they have any way to reproduce the photos.>
-
"Alright PB, I'll see you there"
Mia grabs her kit and heads out to the meet
-
Upon arrival Mia does a once by on her bike to get an idea of the shop and the block it is on before she parks her bike a few blocks away and waits for PB to turn up.
-
@Mia
You get to the address that was given by Kuren, circling around once on your bike. The streets are narrow and crowded with people. The shop seems unusually quiet compared to its environment. You park your bike a few blocks away, making sure you know how to get back to the shop without losing yourself in the maze of narrow streets.
-
Though he left for the shop well before Mia did, he still arrived after she did, having taken his usually circulus route there. Once he found a place to park a few blocks off, he sent a texted to Mia, <@Mia: I'm here. Shall I be joining you inside the shop or waiting off site?>
-
<Head around the back for some survailence and just in case the john gets spooked>
Mai heads around the front of the store perusing the various shop fronts on her way. When she arrives at the camera shop she looks thru the window and feigns sudden intrest before walking inside.
-
@Mia
After your setup, you go into the shop, trying to look like a normal window shopper. As you step in, you hear the familiar "いらっしゃいませ！" from the back of the shop as an older gentleman walks out and smiles at you. The interior of the shop is somewhat cluttered, with old model cameras laying in display cases, accessories surrounding them.
@Pipebomb
You circle around the block, trying to find some sort of way to get directly from the front of the shop to the back. After walking for some time, you find what you're confident is the back of the shop, looking like the back door to an apartment building.
-
Fischer scanned the area for security before approaching the door in question.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [5,2,4,2,2,1,1,1,5,2,6,1] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4300884/)
[/spoiler]
-
@ Pipebomb
Looking around reveals your standard set of cameras giving on the streets, but nothing seems to be giving directly on the back door. However, the back entrance is visible from the street, so anyone entering or exiting would be seen.
-
"How can you help me? I hear you are a purveyour of vintage cameras and" Mia glances around the shop "I can see this to be true. But would you perchance be able to help me with a particular model?"
If Mia doesnt actually know the model she will get the info from Kuren
-
"Yes, sure. Does your camera need fixing?" asks the old man as you mention the camera and its model.
-
"Wish that were possible but alas, I sold that old thing and miss it quite dearly. You dont happen to have one in stock? Or maybe you know someone else who has one that may be willing to accept offers or trade?"
-
"It's a pretty old model, so we don't sell any unfortunately" says the old man. After hearing your request, you can see he is very surprised by it. However, he composes himself quickly and simply tells you "I'm sorry but I'm afraid that's not possible. But maybe I can interest you in another model?" He then gets closer to the displays and starts searching for a camera for you.
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"Sorry bud, but its no a camera of the same age i want but that particular model. There were things about the way that little beauty captured the moments that won't be replicated by a near enough equivalent..." Mia turns as if to leave but stops "You dont know any other dealers in the area that could get me one?
-
"I'm terribly sorry, honourable customer" says the old man with a slight bow. "I don't know of other shops that carry that model, I'm sorry."
-
Fischer leaned against the wall next to the door and after a few moments checked to see if it's locked.
-
@Pipebomb
To your surprise (or not, you've been living in Neo-Tokyo for long enough now), it isn't.
-
Fischer messaged Mia, <@Mia: At rear entrance, door unlocked.>
-
<No worries. Clerks not talking but his body language says he knows something, not sure what tho. Maybe have a quick look in the back?>
-
Fischer entered the shop as subtlly as possible and took in his surroundings.
[spoiler=Infiltration]
Infiltration 4 + Agility 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [3,1,2,3,4,4,6,5] = (2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4307808/)
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [3,2,2,4,6,6,3,5,2,2,5,4] = (4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4307809/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
You silently open the door and slide in, closing the door behind you. You look around, seeing what you would expect from an old camera shop back store: boxes with different model numbers on them (most probably replacement parts), bottles of chemicals, boxes of paper, small to medium sized machinery, etc. You hear some noise coming from a door at the other end of room, and to your right, you see a closed door with a dark lightbulb above it.
-
Fischer crept up to the door at the far end of the room to investigate the noise.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [4,5,1,3,1,2,6,1,6,2,5,4] = (4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4308227/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
Moving around the room, you make your way to the other end as silently as possible. There are a lot of boxes and other trinkets lying on the floor, but you somehow manage not to bump anything. Getting closer to the door, you hear what is distinctly the sound of daytime Trideo playing, and what seems like a person shuffling around. A quick peek inside the other room reveals an old woman going about her business, getting herself a drink while keeping an eye on what's playing on the Trideo. To the other end if the room, you see a sliding door and to your right you see stairs leading up.
-
Fischer, quietly, moved on to investigate the other door.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [4,6,2,5,6,2,5,2,6,4,3,6] = (6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4308324/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
Opening the door delicately, you see it's a pitch-dark room with equipment placed on various tables. There is one big machine on the back of the room, with tubs lying around it.
-
<@Mia: Sweep finished. Only other person on the ground level is an old woman in the living area. The storage area and darkroom are both clear.>
-
<Shy of draggin this guy back to the room, i think we might have hit a dead end?>
-
<@Mia: I think one act of kidnapping is enough for one day.>
Fischer quietly rummaged through the shop's back area checking to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [5,6,2,2,3,2,1,1,2,3,3,6] = (3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4309989/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
You start looking around the backstore as quietly and quickly as you can, looking at what's on the shelves, the labels on the bottles, behind and inside the boxes, etc. After a good 10 minutes, you have roughly swept the room and nothing strikes you as odd or out-of-place.
-
"Thank you very much Sir" Mia politley dips her head and leaves the store
<Alright guys, not much to go on here, Thoughts?>
-
<Kitty Kat, what do you mean exactly? What happened?> Smiley message back as he fed Makato some food and tried to make her comfortable.
-
<I think the owner is aware of makatos mother but prolly doesnt know she is passed. He is not giving up any info tho and i've shown my hand already, mentioning her camera. You can really make a rep for yourself as a stand over man if you wanna but i dont see where this is supposed to lead?>
-
<Did you ask if he could reproduce photos he has developed previously? If our victim had her filmed developed there it could bust open the case, if we knew what she was taking pictures of. Though to be honest at this point it is still conjecture.>
Kuren tends to the girls bruises with his medkit.
As long as Smiley doesn't try to physically stop him. If he does Kuren will back down but have something to say about it.
Logic 6 + Medkit Rating 6 = 12d6
12d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4312506/)
Threshold is 2 so heals 2 boxes.
-
@Smiley & Kuren
Makoto, still visibly scared and shaken, accepts the food and the medical attention. The sudden care only works to confuse her further, as she does not know what to make of the situation.
-
Fischer checked the dark room in detail.
[spoiler=Perception]
Perception 5 + Intuition 4 + Hawkeye 1 + Perceptive 2 = Pool 12
12d6.hits(5) → [4,6,6,4,6,2,2,1,6,3,1,6] = (5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4312813/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Pipebomb
Checking around the room in the dark would prove difficult for most people, but not for you, thanks to your heritage. You see a few pictures here and there, but nothing/nobody in them strike you as important to your run.
-
Seemingly at a dead end, Fischer made his way out of the building and back to his vehicle.
[spoiler=Infiltration]
Infiltration 4 + Agility 4 = Pool 8
8d6.hits(5) → [6,1,2,5,5,4,1,5] = (4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4314021/)
[/spoiler]
-
Just as Mia pushes thru the door, she turns and to ask one last question. "you dont happen to sell any prints do you, or hold onto the negatives of those you develop?"
-
The old man, politely smiling, simply says "Only if the customers never come back to the shop."
-
Once back at his vehicle Fischer fired off a text to the group, <@All: Shop's a dead end. Found nothing of interest or importance.> He also sent a private one to Smiley, <@Smiley: The ninja pop back up yet?>
-
<@Pipebomb Why? You guys have a date? No sign of him.>
-
"Well thank you all the same sir. If you happen to come across that camera or even if someone brings in some prints from one, please let me know as iwould love to talk to them." with that Mia leaves the store heading towards her bike and keeping an eye out for PB on her way.
-
@Mia
The man bows to you on your way out polite as always, but deep down you know your chances of him reaching out to you are very small.
-
<@All: So now what?>
-
"I'm sorry to say that i have lost track of what leads we have left... This isn't going very well is it?..." J replied to PBs message to the team, continuing to address it to everyone. He sat on a table next to the used noodle bowls, swinging his legs.
-
"We still have a few cards to play, though it would have been a lot easier if we had found the pictures at the shop." Smiley says, considering options, "Unfortunately the next step is going to mean going after a Japanacorp, we need to find this Ishihara, and we need to see about finding this other apartment, her Canon might be there."
He looks at Kuren, "I am thinking you might have to get that for us. We need some real intel if we make a meet with Johnson."
-
@Kuren
Just when you thought the trail had gone cold, your commlink lets you know you have an incoming message.
Your results are in: the DNA belongs to a man called Hiroyuki Komatsu, a card-carrying member of the Shinzo-gumi."
-
Kuren's eyes light up at the timely deliverance of the test results. <Standby everyone. I just got the test results back. The man in the apartment was one Hiroyuki Komatsu, member of the Shinzo-gumi. I'm running searches now...>
Knowledge Underworld:
Underworld 1 + Logic 6= 7d6
7d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4320041/)
Data Search: 1st on the name in particular the second on the organization.
Data Search 3 + Browse 5 + Analytical Mind 2 = 10d6
10d6.hits(5)=4, 10d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4320043/)
-
<Here we are. Oh this does not bode well. He is a made man of the Shinzo-gumi, a medium sized Yakuza organization. Two arrests for intimidation and assault, released twice. Word on the street is the Shinzo-gumi have a political or megacorp ties. Looks to me that connection is with Renraku. This is not good. Not only was our victim involved with a mega but a mega with Yakuza friends. As much as I hate to suggest it we may need to speak with Mr. Hiroyuki.>
Kuren's glasses continue to flash as he updates the case file, a look of worry slowly growing on his face as he does.
-
<@All: We're not getting paid enough for this crap. So what's the approach?>
<@Smiley: He's been gone far too long. We should move the girl.>
-
<I must agree Pipebomb-san. The dangers and risks are quickly mounting against us while there has been little to no evidence to point to what may have befallen our victim. Perhaps it is time to present our employer with our findings and speculations and see how he wishes to proceed.>
Kuren shakes his head clearly worried about the future of this investigation.
-
<Hells to the yeah on that one. This shits gettin dangerous>
-
"I get why we would be worried about the Yakuza, we wouldn't want to even look at them the wrong way.. but surely we don't need to worry about the Megacorp so long as we don't mess with anything directly involved with them? They might be connected to Renraku but everything with the girl might not be to do with the Corporation.. "
-
<@All: Shouldn't we do at least a token amount of surveillance on the Yakuza guy and the woman's boss at Renraku before going back to the Johnson empty handed?>
-
<I have no qualms during surveillance on Renraku, as J-san said, as long as we're not interfering with anything directly they should not cause any trouble. The Yakuza on the other hand would not hesitate to dispose of someone who saw the wrong thing. I believe our victim is proof of that. I can start tailing the boss but it could take days to find anything.>
-
"We have a who, we don't have a why, that was the parameters of the job. We either need to have words with the Yak or dig up info on the supervisor, I am not hopeful on the former, barring getting Ms Makato a roommate, but we can go that route. We need intel, like I said before, I am gonna call a friend and see how good the opposition research is where Renraku is concerned.
<@pipebomb KidNinja never saw the squat, unless you are paying for the new safehouse, we ain't moving her. Bring the paranoia down a notch.>
Smiley also drops a line to a sweet young thing named Cho at EVO
<Hey you! You still at work?>
-
@ Smiley
You get a quick reply from Cho. "Not for long, Smiley. Want to meet after?"
-
@ Smiley
You get a quick reply from Cho. "Not for long, Smiley. Want to meet after?"
<Wish I could beautiful, raincheck? I was hoping to trade services ;) You corp types do opposition research on other executives don't you? I could really use a hand with tracking someone down, a Renraku guy by the name of Ishihara>
-
@Smiley
"Ishihara from Renraku you say? I'll get on it, but it'll cost you a trio of dates, all expenses paid" replies the woman.
-
<I am all yours>
To the rest of the group, Smiley says "I got someone working on Ishihara, do we want to go visit the hitter?"
-
"Not like anything else is jumping out of the wood work..."
-
<@All: I'm almost back. Since a white guy is bound to stand out and throw up a few flags, want me to keep an eye on the girl?>
-
<Like a redskin doesn't stand out?>
"You got an address on the hitter Kuren? If not I can reach out to a friend, maybe."
-
Kuren forwards the address his search turned up. <I do but it's a business address not a personal one. I will see if there is any more information I can uncover. >
-
"Well I am glad we haven't hit a dead end... still plenty we might run into. Hopefully safely. Like with an airbag at least."
-
"Okay, I guess we need marching orders. Pipe and Mia meet us 2 blocks north of the Yak's place look for a white panel van. We will go in as a unit, hopefully with enough juice to get some answers." Smiley goes to secure Makoto and then take Kuren and J to meet the others.
-
<@All: Somehow I doubt Shock-and-Awe is going to get us little more than a pile of corpses and bullseyes painted on our backs.>