Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: The Big Peat on <11-27-12/1607:04>
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Welcome to Las Vegas!
If you've seen that, or some variation of it, upon entering the city, you've seen it a dozen times if not more - normally in flashing, flashy lights the size of a Troll. You've seen plenty of those as well, from the mirror-shaded doormen, to black-leather clad girls emerging from expensive cars, to tourists wearing just about anything - or nothing. You've seen elves, humans, dwarves, orks, half a dozen other forms of metahumanity, and probably some other things as well. This the playground of humanity, and it looks like everyone wants a piece of something.
You want a piece too.
Maybe you're from here. Maybe you're not. Either way, a guy who knows people asked you to be here. Come ready for anything, be ready to act quickly and work with complete strangers, and you'll be paid well. Or, for some of you, only slightly ripped off instead of totally ripped off. That's business. But if it is a buyer's market, you're a rare commodity.
The place is called the Great Dragon Hotel & Casino, a theme they've run with shamelessly and gleefully, and you've been asked to get to the Celedyr Lounge Bar for 2100 and ask for one M Johnson. A discrete serving assistant, a skinny looking female Ork in a tight fitting shirt and trousers, points you to a booth in the corner of the room. There, melding into the shadows is an elf, black and very tall, wearing a sharp suit and watching everything.
Including you.
He cocks his head, silently asking 'What do you want?'
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"Fame, more money than I can ever spend, a small private island somewhere in the Mediterranean with a small number of menservants catering to my every whim.", Silk answered without a moments hesitation. "Oh.", she turned and stopped the servant who was quietly retreating. "And a martini please. Dry. Put it on the gentleman's tab." Without waiting for a reaction, she turned away from the servant and back to the elf who she assumed was tonight's Johnson. "But enough about me, what do you want?"
Vegas. Though it wasn't her home and she hadn't had the chance to really see the city apart from some quick in-and-outs for a job, Silk felt she belonged here.
Of all the cities in the world, this was the one who made the most money from nothing but sin. And instead of hiding its lack of morals as something to be ashamed of, the city advertised its filth for everyone to see. People walked into the trap with their eyes wide open, laughed loudly while they let themselves be robbed of their money and once it's all over, they leave happily and go back to their lives, trying to make more money to lose it all over again to the splendor of Vegas.
She didn't care much about the way the Johnson, or so she presumed, welcomed her. But she did love the location.
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"Work" answers Francis. As popular as Vegas was, he didn't really care for it. It was such an impersonal city. More so than most other cities. On top of that, it was a city of depravation, of legalized robbery, of debauchery. Nobody cared about anyone here: they only cared about nuyens. That impersonal touch didn't sit well with Francis. He had been to Vegas before and was always glad to leave.
But, his need for work came before his disgust for the city. He went where the job needed him to go.
Hearing Silk give her list of "requests", he thought to himself, "Let's hope she can channel that ambition towards the job."
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"I´ll take what the lady is having - minus the Martini. Im more of a scotch person myself."
Durkon arrives with a disarming smile and nods friendly to the others and the presumed Mr. Johnson. "But in all seriousness: I believe we are all looking for a Mr. Johnson. I assume that would be you?"
Vegas had been a great break from jungle warfare. Although there is pain and corruption hidden under the surface, there is hardly a place where one can have a better party and Durkon is always up for one. He had arrived at the casino hours in advance to play some low stakes poker and blackjack.
invisiblecastle seems to be down, but there a couple of things Durkon would have done before going to the casino:
cast Increase Charisma (5) and put it into the sustaining Focus
cast Increase Reflexes (4) and put it into the other sustaining Focus
cast Fashion on the Milspec-helmet to transform it into a Motorcycle helmet
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Miko had arrived a couple of days before, still in search for her daughter. When she had gotten the message for a job, she had accepted as her funds were on the low side. She had come to the Great Dragon, but without any weapons (they were still in her hotel room, which was not far) as she would have to hand them over at the entrance anyways. But she could fight well enough without them as a troll's punch packed quite a ... well, punch. She was wearing tourist clothes, the easier to blend in with the other tourists.
Arriving at the location, she spotted some other people there.
"Hey, I'm Jade," she rumbled as she sat down, "So, what's the job?"
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Natsumi had more than once felt dwarfed by this strange new city she was in. She'd never been outside of Neo-Tokyo before, and when Inoshishi had set her up with this job she'd been more than a little surprised. Still, it was a paying job so here she was. She'd come dressed as a tourist and had paid extra to ship her prized vehicle overseas. She hadn't wanted to be caught without it depending on what the job was.
She was glad she had decided to give herself a few hours before the meeting though. Las Vegas was huge! Amazingly decadent as well, and it's Matrix life made the streets look positively tame. It was bad enough she'd gotten lost and had to deal with the city itself, but the dizzingly array of comm devices all over had her fighting constantly not to get distracted by all the beautiful signals. So many little connections to the Matrix here, there, and everywhere. She could just feel her AIPS begging to be allowed to dive right in but with the practice of long experience, she forced it to subside. Indulging her condition was for private time only, not work time. Fortunately, she found the casino by the appointed time. Even better, she'd only spent two minutes this time lost in memories of her time as a test subject when spying a Mitsuhama-brand commlink. A new personal best!
She felt her nerves take her as she approached the Johnson and the assortment of people with him. She really disliked face to face meets. The Matrix was just so much calmer and more sensible for these sorts of things. But then, she found the Matrix to be better for just about everything. Meatspace was so...clammy and off-putting. She gave the Johnson and his tablemates a polite and formal bow as she approached and then took a seat. "Good evening. I believe you have a request for us, sir?" She spoke in English with a strong Japanese accent and kept her eyes focused on the Johnson, though she didn't stare him directly in the eye. That would be rude.
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Snap arrives in Las Vegas at the last possible moment, having taken the cheapest bus he could find from California overland through the PCC. After folding up his Steed and stashing it and his bags in a bus terminal locker he quickly makes his way to the rendezvous, stopping only long enough to assemble and arm his Ferret.
Once past security at the Casino Snap visits the restroom to change into his Zoe suit and assemble the weapons concealed in his shielded attaché case. He pauses briefly to look in the mirror, taking a deep breath and going through a calming exercise from his latest self-help book. Finished, he looks himself right in the eye, ignoring his crooked features, and thinks: You can do this—just go out there, keep your damn mouth shut, and get the job.
A few moments later he approaches the table where the others are gathered, trying hard not to flinch when he sees that the Johnson is an elf. Silently he nods a greeting to everyone present, and then leans against the side of the booth and listens carefully to find out what this job is all about.
Loadout
Zoe Executive Suit Long Jacket Ensemble
Standard Underlayer (Form Fitting, discrete SecureTech)
Warhawk [Hidden Arm Slide] (1 Capsule: Warp, 1 Capsule: Gamma-Scopolamine + DMSO, 2 Gel, 2 APDS, 2 AV, speedloader with 2 Gel, 2 APDS, 2 AV)
Slivergun [Hidden Arm Slide] (Flechettes, 1 spare clip)
Elan [Concealable Holster] (Capsules: Narcoject + DMSO)
Smart Jammer [Jacket Pocket]
Telescoping Staff [Jacket Pocket]
Detcord (4m) [Concealed in Belt] {vacuum sealed}
Radio Detonator [Concealed as Belt Buckle]
Attaché Case (street clothes, Ulysses coat, Personal Hygiene Kit (foam explosive concealed as shaving cream {vacuum sealed}, radio detonator concealed as pill case))
Auto-Injector (1 Guts, 1 Nitro, 1 Long Haul, 3 Betameth)
Patches [Back Pants Pocket] (Stim, Trauma)
Note: Prior to weapon assembly, all ammo was vacuum sealed with exterior residue removed with low intensity laser.
Drones Deployed
Ferret [On wall of nearby building, watching casino entrance nearest to the Celedyr lounge] (Flash Bang/White Phosphorus) {Analyze(E), Clearsight(E), Covert Ops, Maneuver Groundcraft(E), TacSoft @R3, Targeting}
Dragonfly [Patrolling at random outside the casino] {Analyze(E), Clearsight(E), Covert Ops, Maneuver Aircraft(E), TacSoft @R3}
Kanmushi [Attached to back of wrist] {Analyze(E), Clearsight(E), Covert Ops, Maneuver(E), TacSoft @R3}
Commlink Status
Public [Passive Mode] {Analyze(E) (searching for intruders)}
Internal [Hidden Mode] (Subscribed to Dragonfly and Ferret) {Analyze(E) (searching for intruders), Command, Encrypt(E) (encrypting subscriptions to Dragonfly and Ferret), Scan, Weapon Watcher (analyzing feeds from Dragonfly and Ferret, set to notify for any hits), Vehicle Identification (analyzing feeds from Dragonfly and Ferret, set to notify for security vehicles)
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The Johnson grins shark-like at Silk's brashness; nods and smiles at the rest of you as he waves at the seats, encouraging you to sit down.
"I am Mr Johnson," he acknowledges with a showman's grin, his accent identifying an LA origin "And I do indeed have something to offer you. Feel free to order - it's on my tab."
He waits a little for this to happen, his attention somewhat disconnected. However, once the serving lady has been and gone, the eyes snap back to you. You can hear the persistent pulse of white noise.
"Very well then. I'm gonna express the case in the barest bones first; there is a man who has something people want, and he flies out tomorrow night. The window of opportunity is small and the man is well guarded, but get that object to me and you get 30k each. Nuyen."
"And as a once off bonus prize, you also get my good regard and consideration for future work," the elf has a self-mocking smile here.
He sits back, sipping on a bottle of Bud.
"If you are interested, then I can start giving you the real details you want," he adds, implicitly inviting questions with a cock of his eyebrow.
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Silk raised an eyebrow. "Am I interested in making 30 grand in one day? Always. But the final answer will have to wait until after I've heard these details, I'm sure you understand."
Her voice left little doubt that she didn't believe the details to be details for a second.
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"Princess here has a point," Jade said as she sipped her Perrier, "well guarded for instance. Are we talking 100 guys with AK-97s or 10 guys with Red Samurai armour. The object, do we need a truck or can I put it in my pouch? Things like that. Especially the first question will have an impact on price and such."
She wasn't saying she wouldn't do it, but if there was one thing she had learned it was getting those kinds of things up front. Made the run that much easier.
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Did troll woman just call me "princess"? What's that bitch's problem?
Silk's remained unchanged, focusing solely on the Johnson.
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She ordered, taking the chance to try some exotic Western food since the Johnson was so nice to be buying. When he spoke she nodded. "I am indeed interested Johnson-san. But yes, more details would be helpful.. Does this person, for example, have any particular habits or foibles that we could exploit? Do you care if the man lives or dies in the process of extracting your object?"
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Durkon takes another sip of his scotch and nods in agreement. "I agree. Generally, the job sounds very acceptable, but before we can talk about money we have to know some details."
Then he uses the moment to switch to astral sight and takes a quick look at the team and Mr Johnson.
Assensing tests:
Assensing tests for Mr Johnson, Silk, Francis, Ephemera and Jade (7d6.hits(5)=1, 7d6.hits(5)=3, 7d6.hits(5)=0, 7d6.hits(5)=1, 7d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3805859/)
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Silk's healthy and annoyed.
The rest you can see on her charsheet. :p
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Francis orders a Scotch, straight. If he was going to be in Vegas, he might as well enjoy some of it.
Listening to the Johnson, Francis thought him intentionally vague. Dealing with him for future employment was his to decide if it was a bonus or not. Nonetheless, he did want to hear more.
"Princess here has a point," Jade said as she sipped her Perrier, "well guarded for instance. Are we talking 100 guys with AK-97s or 10 guys with Red Samurai armour. The object, do we need a truck or can I put it in my pouch? Things like that. Especially the first question will have an impact on price and such."
Francis thought to himself, "Princess? Do they know each other already?" He then looked at Silk's reaction from the corner of his eye. "By the way she ignored the comment, I'll say no." If Jade was that brash with people she didn't know, what did that mean? "Guess that means she would be a fierce opponent in battle, but not so reliable when discretion is required."
Francis then spoke to the Johnson, loud enough for everyone at the table to hear, "Without committing to anything, I'm interested in hearing more. The tall girl has a few good questions. What we need to take from this man, is it an object or is it more abstract?"
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Snap orders a chai latte without making eye contact with the cute waitress, and then listens in mute horror to the cacophony of questions.
Crap, they're going to pester the rich elf with too many questions without committing to the job and he's just going to walk away. Damn it, I need this work.... He goes to interject, but stops himself: Stay calm, Snap. If you open your mouth it will just make things worse.
Instead of speaking, Snap puts his hands in his outside jacket pockets, the right one repeatedly gripping his collapsed telescoping staff as if it were a stress ball.
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Mr Johnson takes the stream of questions happily though, nodding to himself with a slight smile. The only sign of anything approaching annoyance he gives is a raised eyebrow at Durkon.
"The man in question is not without temptation - he's in Vegas, know what I'm saying? But he's been fairly careful. Callgirls to his room, gambling only in major casinos with only a few excursions to big tourist things out of town - and I should point out now that, despite any appearances to the contrary, all of the big places here take security extremely seriously and treat an affront to their big spending customers as an affront to themselves. Which makes staying there in the open fairly damn safe."
"It also means that if you get caught going for him, and the Mob decides it doesn't like your faces, please do not expect extra money from me. You've been warned," he looks around the table to see if there's any objection. "But, to go back to the original question, he does like pretty girls and gambling. He might make a fool of himself over that."
"He also, weirdly, really loves photography. So, he's going to be in the desert for a little while tomorrow photographing interesting rocks." Mr Johnson sounds like he's never heard a weirder thing in his life. "He's got an itinerary that I happened to get my hands on, which goes to the lucky winners of this job."
"I should also clarify that I do not care what happens to him. However, he presumably does. To the best of my knowledge, he is not Awakened, but he has had some fairly extensive self-defence training, and given his wealth I'd be surprised if his body is a 100pc his."
"Likewise, his bodyguards will be augmented and they are veteran. He's got 8 of them - all of them operating with discrete armour and either pistols or submachine guns, depending on what they can get away with at that moment. They're sticking to him pretty close. As in, if the man pisses, his guys are using the next urinals."
"Finally, the object itself. It's a briefcase, and it spends most of its life attached to his wrist. Please do not open it - as I am led to believe a certain amount of unpleasantness is triggered to off at that point."
"Is there anything else you'd like to know before accepting?"
"
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"I see. I for one can think of nothing objectionable about taking the assignment then. Do the rest of you agree?" She took her eyes from the Johnson to survey the rest of the table for the first time.
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Silk slowly nodded in agreement. "If the job's as straightforward as you lay it out to be, I'm sure well all be happy to take this job.
Can I ask how you obtained the information you have so far? The itinerary, the callgirls, number bodyguards, personal information... If you've had someone keep an eye on this person so far, perhaps there's something more they could tell us. Things others consider a detail but may prove to be crucial to finding out the best way to get to the briefcase."
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Listening to the Johnson's details about the job, Francis remains expressionless. He listened intently, tried to soak in every detail he could. Details were often the important info in a job like this.
"Sounds reasonable to me. You can count me in. Just one question though: where do we drop off the suitcase once we have it?"
He looks around the table, namely at Durkon, Snap and Jade, waiting to see what they will say.
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Durkon considers for a moment and then responds:
"The mission is accepted, and I agree that the 30k each is a fair payment. But since we havent worked together and I dont know anything about your reputation, I will need either one third of the payment upfront, or all of it placed in an escrow account with the fees for it coming from your end.
Nothing personal, but I have made bad experiences with this sort of thing."
Negotiation (15d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3807390/)
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Snap nods acceptance, and then speaks for the first time that evening. "As for the item itself, is it fragile or flammable, or does it contain unhardened electronics? And the briefcase—is it armored, fireproofed, or shielded? Are either sensitive to extreme temperature or pressure?"
As he speaks Snap is mentally imagining how easy this job would be if A) the case were strong enough to survive an airstrike, B) he knew anyone who owned a plane capable of carrying a large bomb, and C) he had a large bomb.
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What? What kind of idiotic move is that, accepting a price for all of us without even trying to get a better deal? If that's his best bargaining skill, it's no wonder he's had bad experiences with being paid.
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Jade simply nodded. 8 bodyguards was a lot, but they had some bad-ass people as well and maybe they could do it a bit more sneaky. Depending on which type of call-girls the mystery man liked, she or Silk could pretend to be one and get close that way. The bodyguards might take the next urinal, but somehow she doubted they would be in the next bed.
assensing on Jade:
She's a bit nervous. As for the cyberwear, see my char sheet. You see it all with four hits.
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The Johnson purses his lips at Silk's question.
"I have a contact. I am not willing to expose this contact due to their value," he tilts his head as he says this, openly considering something "If I get anything else from the contact, however, I will let you know. Don't count on anything. Likewise, if you have questions, I will ask and relay any answers I get - but again don't count on anything."
"Payment, I am happy to either make an up front retainer, or stick it in an escrow. That's the call of you people. The briefcase is armoured to a degree but the items are inside are fragile. I don't know how well armoured either."
"The drop off point - there will be two. One for if no one's after you, the other for if you're hot. If you've got off scot free, there's a janitor's area on the third floor of the car park at Lucky O'Reilly's. You'll need a code to get in, I'll message it to you in a moment. If you could look like you belong when you do the drop off, that would be appreciated."
"If however you're dragging a tail round, there's some out of use sewers under a building site on the north side of town. I'll give you co-ordinates. Even if it ain't the right place for a meet, it's not a bad place to lose people if you can't find anywhere better sooner."
"Either way, drop me a message when you're done with an ETA and I will be ready for the exchange."
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"That answers my questions" declares Francis. "I would move for a retainer, if everyone's fine with that."
He then looks around at the other runners, waiting to see what they say.
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"I have no objection to a retainer." She looked at the others and then set about eating her food. It was always good to go into a job on a full stomach, she found. No distracting hunger pains to take her out of the zone when she was at home in the Matrix. It'd be nice not to have to worry about the meat body so she could spend more time in her true home, but sadly, she did have to tend to affairs in the meat world first before she could go play.
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He still hasn't given us the name of this person. Is it because it's someone we wouldn't know, or because it's someone we would know?
"It would seem that my partners are eager to start working on this job.", Silk said, quietly adding "Maybe a little bit too eager." with a quick angry glance towards Durkon.
"I do believe this is when you tell us who exactly the target is and where we can locate him."
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Beeing not at all interested in starting an argument in front of Mr. Johnson, Durkon ignores Silks remark for now.
"I think we are in agreement. And I am also fine with a retainer."
Otherwise he waits until Mr Johnson gives them the last details of the job.
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Francis looks at both Silk and Durkon going at it. "Seems like this Silk has a tendency to be in the middle of every squabble so far" he thinks to himself, expressionless. "Not that she's wrong or anything, but maybe she's an argument magnet?" He then decides to pay extra attention to Silk, making sure to never get into it with her.
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Snap is peripherally aware of the tension, but is content knowing he's not directly involved. As he listens for more details about the job he congratulates himself for not (so far) saying anything stupid.
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The Johnson nods, and then takes a ziplock plastic bag out of his pocket, which he slides against the table. There's a data slate inside.
"That contains the rest of the information," he says. "Itinerary, codes, a few photos of the guy so you don't get him mixed up."
"Now, unless you've any more questions, I'll just fill these up" out comes another bag full of credsticks "Then be on my way."
He turns his attention to his comm, going through the rigmarole of online banking while you get a look at the slate. Mike Rossi, your target, looks human, although judging from the width of him you wouldn't be surprised if he was an Ork - not fat, but big, with slicked-back black hair and an average looking face. The briefcase looks like a standard model, designed to protect the contents from bullets but not assault cannons. And both are staying at the Lucky Strike casino, room 463, taking a well-detailed trip around parts of the desert tomorrow from 1400 to 1800, and then leaving town at 2300. At least, thats their plan.
Mr Johnson slides the bag of sticks across the table as he gets up - its striking just how absurdly tall he is.
"Well then. Last questions," he says, waiting for you to verify that he's put the right amount on your sticks. Which he has. So far, he's played you straight.
So far.
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Francis takes the credstick and slides it in his pocket. He didn't need to verify the funds; at the "high-stakes table", the Johnsons didn't try to screw you to your face like that. The crossing was done behind the scenes, far away from where people could easily retaliate.
He then turns over to the rest of the team and waits for them to be done with their business. Once that's taken care of, he asks them, "Does anyone know of a place where we could talk privately?"
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Durkon quickly reviews the material and then smiles satisfied. After he makes sure that noone else has any questions he says to their employer:
"Excellent.
Mr. Johnson, Its been a pleasure meeting with you.
You´ll be hearing from us"
He waits until he is gone and then turns to his teammates:
"I see no reason not to stay here to talk. I assume there should be no listening devices here, and if Im wrong on that, were screwed anyway. But to be sure maybe anyone with experience in that matter can make sure of that."
After the team agrees or they are at another place in private, Durkon adresses them:
"Alright everyone, while we dont have huge amounts of time, I think we should spend at least a couple of minutes to get to know each other at least a little bit first. That way we can better understand each other and get a better sense of each others abilities.
I am Durkon and follow Thor. I have several decades of experience as a combat mage mercenary all around the world. I also have a bit of subtle mental manipulation magic available if necessary."
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Francis pulls out a cigar and sits down with the rest of the team. After listening to Durkon's introduction, he speaks up. "I go by "Francis". I specialize in B&E, and I can handle myself in a game of fisticuffs." There was no point in showing his hand just yet, so he kept it at that.
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"Jade," the big troll said, "I shoot people, hit peopleor hit on people."
It was very clear that she wasn't all that talkative, at least not in the beginning.
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"Silk. I'm usually good at the whole talking and persuasion whatchamacallit, but since I'm obviously outclassed by Durkon's magical manipulation talent, I'll only be providing tonight's comic relief. Not too bad at the stealthy approach either, I suppose." She said it with a straight face, only the word 'magical' sounded happily over-excited, the way a small child would talk about rainbow colored flying unicorns from a magical lollipop land.
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She looked up from her food and bowed while remaining seated. "I am Ephemera. I'm a technomancer, hacker, and have experience with using drones in combat. I also have a mobile base available should we need it for the operation." She went back to her food then.
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"Very nice. Looks like we have a well rounded crew here. I really like working with professionals!"
Durkon takes another delighted sip from his scotch and continues.
"Now about how to do this job:
I suggest that we gather some information before deciding exactly how to proceed, but the way I see it there are 3 general ways how to get the briefcase:
- some B&E into the guys room to steal it while he is sleeping. That would mean that Francis and Epherma would probably run point on the operation.
- social infiltration to get close to the guy and manage to steal it from under his nose. I guess Silk would be best suited to lead this option.
- and most straight forward: some kind of direct attack while he is touring the desert. That would be probably Jades and my area of expertise.
So my first idea would be to try to go for one of the first 2 options and also keep the third option as a plan B if something goes wrong.
Have I missed anything obvious? Does anyone have better ideas before we try to gather some additional information?"
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"I have no objection. But I should note that my talents are best suited to the Matrix, not the meat world." She went back to her food at that point, not quite sure what else to say in this situation.
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Francis takes a long puff of his cigar. That fraction of a second when he could relax and forget he was in Vegas was worth a lot more than most people would think. He listens to Durkon's plan and follows with, "Those three approaches sound like the logical ones. But just one thing: if our cover gets blown in option 1 or 2, I highly doubt he'd be foolish enough to expose himself in the desert like that. Odds are, he'd be on the next flight out of Vegas in a matter of hours if we get made."
Francis then continues, "Obviously I'm all for option 1. After all, it is my specialty. If I can get someone to help me over in the digital world," and he turned over to look at the scrawny-looking Japanese woman, "I should be able to sneak myself into the room and get what we're looking for, or at least open a window to let you guys in and catch them with their pants down."
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"We have to be careful about doing anything in the hotel," Jade said, "while they look as if they let just about anybody in, hotel security will protect their customers, so we'd be fighting both his personal security and hotel security if something goes wrong. Maybe first check out what security he and the hotel have, confirm his routine and check his hotel/casino."
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Snap flips on his own white noise generator as the Johnson leaves.
He listens to the others speak, and eventually interjects with his introduction, long enough after the others introduced themselves to be vaguely awkward. "I'm Snap, I shoot people, blow things up, and otherwise cause large amounts of mayhem in a short period of time. I'm also good at surveillance and communications: jamming, decryption, things like that. I'm no hacker though."
He stumbles verbally momentarily, before continuing, apparently in a rush to get everything out so he can stop talking:
"As for the plans, just tell me what you need and I'll see it done. Either as a primary plan, or if we do get made and they flee, I'm partial to the idea of getting them stuck in traffic and worried for their safety--maybe with a loud, staged raid on a fake target ahead of them--forcing them to either abandon their vehicle and seek "shelter" somewhere we're waiting for them, or remain as sitting ducks in an unmoving vehicle. If it's done well, the police will be too busy chasing the diversion team to respond to any calls generated by the ambush team."
Snap blushes slightly at having said so much. He weakly stammers: "That's just an idea though... um, I mean, if people want to do some other plan that's fine. Just, ah, tell me where to shoot. Right, uh, yeah...." He tails off and looks around, and then at his feet, desperate for someone else to take over talking.
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Silk leaned back in her chair and relaxed. She didn't even speak when she was overlooked for the B&E role.
All the talking in the world couldn't make up for the fact that they'd need to get actual first hand information before they could make any real plans. But apparently Durkon felt the need to establish himself in a leader role and waste valuable time doing so. It was all fine by her. The more attention he drew to himself now, the more blame would fall on him the second things went south.
She observed how the others reacted and made mental notes. Extremely moldeable, desperate for leadership, no self-confidence, probable lack of strong paternal figure.
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"Why don't a couple of people go check out the hotel our mark stays in," Jade suggested, "preferably those who know how to handle disguise. I can have a look in that desert they drive in, search for good ambush spots and all that. If our matrix oriented team members go look for information on our mark there, that would be nice as well. Sounds like a plan? Anybody wants to join me in the desert?"
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"Sounds like a good idea... the only possible one at the moment in fact. Unless of course any of you actually trust the Johnson's information blindly., Silk remarked.
"That trip they have planned tomorrow... I'm not from around here, so if any of you know... The places Mr. Rossi is visiting. Any theme that stands out, things he seems particularly interested in or things out of the ordinary?"
She turned to Jade. "Oh, and by the way, unless it's required for some very unlikely situations on the job: do not, ever, call me princess again." She said it in a way that was so calm and casual that it couldn't possibly be meant to be either calm or casual. If she felt at all threatened by the troll towering over her, she didn't show it.
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"Alright, lets split up and gather information. Im gonna go with Jade to the desert and check out the area there.
The rest of you could continue to plan on how to get the briefcase while it is still in the casino, ok?
But lets try to do it quickly. If any part of the final plan needs to be implemented tonight, there is not much time to waste. I´d suggest we meet again around midnight to decide on which plan to go with.
And lets exchange commcodes to keep each other up to speed."
To Silk he adds:
"Oh dont take that personal. The only one here who Jade could have possibly meant with "princess" is obviously me, right?"
Durkon smiles and winks, doing his best to break the tension.
-
Silk listened to Durkon's joke with a completely blank expression.
"Right.", she said in a neutral tone, then turned around and walked towards the exit. "I'm heading to the Lucky Strike casino. Check it out, maybe see if I can get something out of some of the girls there."
She mentally pulled up Cheyenne's profile and called her ex-lover and ex-employer. Cheyenne 'Miss C' Cordel -or simply Missy- ran an escort-service in Seattle, she might know how to get in touch with the right people in this city. She knew from personal experience how much useful information these girls could get if they kept their eyes and ears open. She doubted the briefcase remained shackled to the man's wrist while practicing the Kama Sutra.
-
"In that case, I'll go case the casino with you" says Francis at Silk's announcement. When everyone is fixed on what to do, he gives out his commcode to the other members of the team. He then leaves the rest of his cigar in the ashtray, gets up and heads towards the exit with Silk and anyone else who is going to the casino with them.
On the way to the casino, Francis tries to get to know Silk a bit better. "Have you worked with anyone on the team before?" he asks. "Or, at least, have you heard of anyone on the team before? A few people back there seemed quite familiar with you."
-
Durkon shrugs Silks cold reaction of and then also starts moving towards the exit together with Jade. "So can we use your car?"
On the way he examines the details about the trip and also loads some detailed satellite maps of the area from the matrix. With that information and with Jade´s help they look for the best location to stage an attack.
-
"I don't have a car," Jade said, "Just a bike. You can sit on the back, although it will be a bit strange, as it's adapted for my size and not yours."
-
"Yes, I can easily see how you could get that impression. But I swear, I can't for the life of me come up with any reason why they'd act like that... Maybe they've heard of me and somehow feel more familiar with me than is appropriate?", Silk replied in an honest and friendly voice.
She shrugged. "But no, I haven't heard of 'em before. That doesn't necessarily have to mean anything, this isn't really my city... Though judging from the way they acted, I'm kind of getting the feeling some of 'em are rookies. I guess being considered a 'new face' is part of the sacrifice you make moving to a new city, huh? Don't know how else I'd get teamed up with them... I swear, that dwarf cost us a couple of thousand nuyen, just accepting the first amount offered, in all of our names! How'd you get hooked up with this group? You're not acting all nervous and jittery, must have some experience in this game."
Silk paused and sighed. "Anyhow, I'm blabbering. Sorry. You got a ride? If not, you can hop in mine, plenty of room but it's non-smoking I'm afraid."
-
"I just happened to be at the right place at the right moment I guess" answers Francis. "And no, I've never worked with anybody else on the team either."
At Silk's offer, he gives her an honest smile and says "No, I don't have a ride, just got into town. I'll gladly take you up on your offer and I'll keep it smoke-free." With that, he gets into the vehicle with Silk.
Once they're on the move, Francis says "I was thinking about spending a few creds at the casino, looking at their security meanwhile. I would love to see their security in action though. Any ideas?"
-
Neatly finishing her meal and politely thanking Mr. Johnson, Ephemera got up from the table. She gave her commcodes to the rest of the team, and then followed Francis and Silk out. Since it seemed the others were on their way, she'd head to her trusty Roadmaster to get started on examining the casino's Matrix security and seeing where and how she could help out.
-
Snap hurries to catch up with Ephemera: "Uh, mind if I join you?" He continues in a rush: "I can, um, have my drones map the area around the Lucky Strike from just about anywhere, but if I tag along with you I can keep an eye out while you're in VR. Although if you don't mind I'd also like to swing by the bus terminal to pick up the rest of my gear."
-
Silk didn't get behind the wheel. Instead, she got on the back seat of the car and started rummaging through some bags and suitcases, ordering the car to drive to the casino with a short voice command.
"I don't know... I'd rather not have them on high alert. Guards usually get lulled into a semi-concious auto-pilot after a long period of boredom. Anything breaking their routine could mean they'd be more alert for the rest of the day. We don't have the time to wait 'til they get bored again.
My prediction for security: What you would expect from a place with several millions in a currency which can be stolen, a bunch of rich and famous persons walking around and and which more often than not is associated to one crime syndicate or the other. A little bit of boredom might be the best we can hope for."
-
"I was thinking more along the lines of one patron mistakenly taking another patron's chips and seeing how the casino deals with those kinds of disputes, both on the floor and in the matrix." Francis then turns around to look at what Silk is searching for. "From what I heard, casino guys are always on the alert. Things are happening left, right and center, people are always trying to screw the house. If anything, seeing them in action will help us determine whether we hit the mark in the casino or outside in the desert." He then adds "Looking for anything in particular?"
-
Ephemera nodded to Snap. "Yes, that would work out nicely. Thank you, Snap-san." She kept walking but slowed her pace so that Snap could keep up. One trip to pick up his materials, and then off to the Citymaster and the Matrix. She made sure to add a little smile. People liked smiles.
-
Snap & Ephemera
Traffic is heavy, making the trip to the bus terminal slow and you get there you can see why. There appears to be a late flurry of arrivals into the city, partygoers arriving at the last minute to get a taste of the night's buzz straight on arrival, creating a crowded atmosphere at the terminal.
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Silk & Francis
As the two elves drive along, Silk's commlink starts to alert her of an incoming call. A quick look shows that Cheyenne is getting back to her.
Assuming that Silk answers she can hear the voice of her old friend and love, the audible equivalent of a cat rubbing up against, well, silk.
"Hey honey," Miss C says "What's happening?"
-
"Cheyenne! I'm so glad you called back. Guess where I am! Vegas! Kind of on a job at the moment, but it's supposed to be a quicky and I'm really hoping this time I can stick around a bit longer than last time. Johnson acted like a bit of a jerk at first but it got a bit better... Oh, and before you ask, let me tell you that no, this isn't another one of those jobs. I've done some thinking about the stuff you said and, you know, did some soul searching or whatever and I suppose maybe you were right... So this is a nice job, you know. If stuff works out noone will get hurt or any of that nastiness. And then I can spend the money on shopping! Didn't Zoé just open a new flagstore in this city? Or was that Mortimer? Hey, maybe you could come over, you know, grab a plane, have some fun, do shome shop... Oh, and shoes, I need a couple new pairs!", Silk blurted out in a speed that would dazzle a professional rapper.
It was one of the many 'games' they used to play. Cheyenne never fell for the patented "dumb blonde word assault" which made the persons apparent IQ drop 40 points; she was the one who helped Silk perfect the trick.
"So, anyhow, there's this person who's got something I wouldn't mind having and he'll be leaving town, tomorrow. Word is he likes girls and has hired a couple of 'em the past week. So I was thinking, maybe you know someone who'd know what those girls know? Or could get me in contact with someone who could at least point me in the right way? Maybe even get me on the list of girls if he's ordered a fresh group for tonight?"
-
"I like bikes, and am sure I could find a way to fit on there....
... But the more I think about it the more I believe we dont really have the time to go out there and do any meaningful recon work done until we should be back here to decide which plan to go with. Lets just work with some sattelite maps for now and if we dont get the briefcase some other way tonight, we can still go out there tomorrow morning and check everything out in person.
Sounds good?"
-
Ephemera raised an eyebrow at the commotion, but kept walking forward. After all, it wasn't uncommon for tourists to make a scene back home and she didn't want to cause a scene. Instead, she would wait for Snap to get what he needed, and then she would start out for the Citymaster to begin her hacking work on the casino.
-
"You can't see everything on satelite images," Jade said, "so let's check the satelites for likely spots and then we go and have a look on site. If the rest finds something in the mean time, good, we're still close by. But we have to make sure that by tomorrow we have something in case they haven't found anything."
to help find a good spot, I'll roll outdoors group with intuition (from all my skills it sounds the most applicable).
intuition 4 + outdoors 3 =7 (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3833400/)
I probably won't be that much of a help, but at least it's not a glitch.
-
Francis fires a message to Ephemera. "In any case, we need to know where this guy is at all times. Think you can hack into something of his and have it broadcast his location to us? That would be most useful for us to coordinate our grab on the mark."
-
She sent a message back to Francis. "On it."
-
Silk
As she finishes her blistering stream of disorientation, she can hear a scratchy sound coming from the other end of the commlink. Cheyenne's doing her nails, holding them up close so you know what she's actually paying attention to. Then you can hear her laugh, her attention switching back right at the end without having to listen.
"Never change honey. Listen, I might be able to do that. Problem is, sugar, who doesn't like girls? So I'll need a few names to narrow things down," Cheyenne teases her warmly. "Oh, and I hate to do this to you, but if I have to cross any palms with silver, the bill's getting passed to you, ok?"
-
"Hm. Is that a 'no' on joining me for a shopping spree? Too bad. Maybe next time. Anyhow, don't worry about the money, Cheye. The times where you had to watch over and sponsor me are behind us, I'll gladly pay for anything worth it. I trust your judgement. So, about this guy...", Silk replied, sharing the man's name, hotel and room number and anything else she thought could be relevant. She trusted Cheyene not to betray her. Even without their past, the woman was far away and theft wasn't something she usually went for anyway. The possible value of the information Cheyenne might get far outweighed the minimal risk of showing trust and sharing the information.
-
Silk
"Business before pleasure, Silk," you can almost hear her purr down the phone. "Why, until you've done this, you don't even know whether shopping in Vegas is a good idea, do you hon?"
"Anyway, I'll ask around. Sure I'll find someone sooner or later, but it might take a while. Too many little men with big egos in Vegas, not always up for talking. Unless there's anything else, I'll get right on it honey."
-
Durkon & Jade
The satellite pictures of the surrounding environs are good, up to date and with excellent clarity. As Jade said, you can't see everything on the maps, but it's not too far off. Durkon can find plenty of places that are secluded, and a fair few that present bottlenecks and offer cover, but the pair are having difficulty finding places that marry the two. Most of the road sweeps out onto desert, and where it doesn't, it mostly sweeps onto town.
But the pair do find a couple of sites where the road passes through tall rocky outcrops. Looks like its the best Mother Earth's going to give.
-
"Except for those two spots, not too much is useful," Jade said to the dwarf, "let's see if the others already have some results."
She sent a quick text to the others that they had two spots in the desert that migth be good for an ambush, but they would have to check it out in person. She also requested an update from the others.
-
"Business before pleasure? What a strange thing to say for someone who's business often involves providing pleasure. I always felt they go together perfectly fine.
Anyway, I gotta go sweety. Almost at the casino! Just please be quick, with the deadline I got I can't afford to wait very long.". Silk knew she didn't have to tell Cheyenne to be discrete. Discretion was the most important part of the business.
She finished rummaging through her bags. "Sorry Francis, was making a call. Someone I know might be able to dig up some more information about the target."
-
"Don't worry about it, I know how it is" answers Francis. "I asked the kid to track our mark. Hopefully she can monitor him without getting found."
Francis pauses for a moment. "Found what you were looking for?"
-
Silk & Francis
"Ok hon, speak soon," she says before Silk rings off.
A little short of the hotel you pull up it. It could be any other place on the strip - opulent, over the top, people milling around everywhere. Cars pull up to the curb and an army of efficient concierges swarm around them. Less swarmy but just as efficient looking are the various oversized figures in sharp suits stood statue-like outside the exit.
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Ephemera & Snap
It's not that Ephemera is having difficulty finding users; on the contrary, that is the problem. Even for someone of her abilities, picking out the single commlink user account of Mike Rossi is not unlike trying to find a needle in a haystack - that has been chucked into a fast moving river.
Yet she's done it. Now it's time for the next step.
In the meantime, Snap has a lot of information to be processed. The good news is they're not being followed, at least as far as he can tell. The bad news, as his drones start providing him feedback, is that the place looks like he's put some banks he's seen to shame. There's a hell of a lot of interference for the Ork to work with, but it's interfering with him too - it looks like this work could be pretty slow.
-
While Silk parks the car, Francis says, "Alright, let's go in separately. I'll go in first, find a place where I can have a good look at the floor and spend some creds. Does that sound good to you?"
Unless Silk has another plan in mind, Francis will change his appearance and go into the casino casually, like any other patron would. He will try to look around subtly at the security, trying to locate cameras, guards, etc.
Disguise 4 + Intuition 5 + Unseen Hands 2 + Facial Sculpt 3 (14d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3869493/) 5 hits on disguise
Perception 4 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 2 + Vision Enhancement 3 + Audio Enhancement 3 (17d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3869487/) 6 hits on perception
-
"Sure, you go on ahead, I'll be there shortly. Stay in touch through comms, let me know what kind of security and scanners you can spot.", Silk replied.
After Francis left, she commanded her SUV to drive around the block again while she finished her makeup and programmed her Holowear to project a simple but elegant evening gown with a matching jacket. She hid the small parts of her disassembled, non-ferrous taser on various parts of her body and purse and carried the other taser in her arm slide along with some ammo in her purse without making any attempts to conceal it any more than it would normally be.
A few minutes after Francis, she walked towards the casino entrance.
-
Francis
As the elf makes his way through the press, he's able to take in several details. It's probably no surprise to learn that the suited goons at the front are carrying, and not all that subtlely either, although most of them look they'd prefer to simply punch a perp anyway. Up close, there's a passiveness about them that makes him wonder just how much attention they're paying. There's a couple of supervisor looking types milling around who look far more aware, although they only give him a cursory look. Francis passes through the doors; a couple of cameras are obvious to even quick inspection, and in a few seconds he reckons he's spotted about five. There's a group of people hanging around the tables at the front, some drinking, some watching the door for friends; a couple of them look like they might be security personnel.
"Hi," a cute human girl with brown hair in a pixie cut beams at him. "Do you need any assistance, sir?"
-
Silk
Even in this crowd, Silk draws a few approving glances, although the doormen don't appear to be amongst her admirers. As she passes through the long porch however, she notices a bit of a stir amongst them.As she looks around the hall, a tall, suited man, pony-tailed and goateed, cuts through the crowd towards her before catching Silk's eye with an apologetic smile.
"Excuse me ma'am, but the Lucky Strike has a no weapons policy. If you would please accompany me to our coat room?"
-
Francis soaks in all the information he can. "A few goons at the door and a couple of supervisors watching the entrance. 5 cameras that I can see. Undercover agents at the tables."
He then looks at the cute greeter, gives her the up-down look and smiles. "You would be most helpful if you could point me to the baccarat tables and bring me a whisky on the rocks, honey."
As soon as he makes himself comfortable, drink in hand and a stack of chips in front of him (¥100 worth), Francis starts subtly looking at the security on the casino floor. With any luck, it was looser than the security at the door.
Another perception roll I guess Perception 4 + Intuition 5 + Perceptive 2 + Visual Enhancement 3 + Audio Enhancement 3 (17d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3884258/)
-
Silk froze, looking panicked about being approached by security and puzzled as to the reason why.
"Weapon? But I don't... What are you...", she started but then her eyes widened when she realized her mistake.
"Oh! Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about that thing. I've never even taken it out, my dad bought it for me and told me to always wear it so I could protect myself in case, well, you know..."
She still seemed panic-struck.