[Retrokinesis]

"Seems like a street scavenger from the report. Careful around her; bet she'll stick a knife in our back the second she sees some profit in it".
Right, I actually don't know anything about those gangs from a setting perspective so feel free to fill Chrona in yourself

[RHat]

"Don't have to worry about that as long as we seem more useful to keep around.  As for dealing with Anatoli, we've got a pretty longstanding business arrangement - as long as he gets a generous finder's fee, you don't need to be too worried.  He is not a man you want to be seen as in any kind of debt to, though - you've got to make for damn sure you balance the scales in any deal with him.  And it doesn't much matter if you actually owe him or not; if he thinks you do, you'd best pay up.  The Kagetora and I are on much better terms, overall - most of them I'd consider friends - but they're a little less connected."


Based on what he's been saying, Three Star can assume "Anatoli" is Anatoli Novatna, the sovetnik to a major Vory Tsar - basically, he's the boss's right-hand man, and accordingly is fairly powerful in the underworld, as well as being responsible for a lot of the organizatsi's operations.  This particular organizatsi is based in Seattle, but has roots grown in in a lot of other places.

The Kagetora are a Seattle based Yakuza group, one which has seen their operations and membership grow quite rapidly over the past couple of years.  They started up as a go-gang, and a lot of their biz is connected to vehicles and such, but they've also branched out into more general smuggling and a few other interests.

[Retrokinesis]

"Well now I really don't like the sound of him. No point in doing business with someone you might just up and decide you owe them. Then I'd have to kill him and all of his associates which would take far longer than I am prepared to commit to any one enterprise. See, these underworld-types are kinda like bugs; you've got the low-level worker drones, the thuggish soldiers, and the monarch at the top. Blank the queen and another just morphs into a new one. You've got to burn out the whole nest at once..." He scoffs and takes another sip of cranberry juice. "We may be criminals but at least we have class... "

[RHat]

"Yeah, well, there's a reason I don't go that route unless I have to.  Decent chance I can get ahold of it through other connections, though.  I can get in touch with some of my friends, if you like, see how long it would take them to get a clean one."  He thought about something for a second.

"As to the insecticide, I'm thinking maybe we should get that without the DMSO.  Seems to me we've got tons of ways to handle non-bug targets, and if we don't mix it with DMSO we can use it to be target selective - that way, if there's bugs and non-bugs mixed together, and we need some of the non-bugs alive, we have a way to do it.  And a way to lay out a suppression zone that only hits bugs.  If that does turn out to be what's over there, our chances of securing local cooperation are a lot better that way - and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not too excited about the idea of trying to take on the local gangs on their home turf.  Individually, we might be better, and better equipped, but there's gonna be a lot more of them, and they'll now the lay of the land in a way we can't; that's not even accounting for prepared defenses.  I have a feeling that trying to take 'em out is gonna be a losing proposition.  If it comes to that, I have a couple ideas as to how to get them to do the heavy lifting for us, but it'll make things a hell of a lot more complicated.  Besides, we can take our time - and we'll get paid more that way, too."  He did a quick lookup on the XFactor.

"As for the rifle...  If we're gonna go with something along those lines, I'll let you guys make the selection; I haven't really got any sort of training with weapons like that.  Personally, though, if I were going to have an underslung weapon I'd probably rather go with a grenade launcher for the sake of stuff like the chemical attacks.  Not like you have to use a shotgun to load flechettes, anyways.  For that matter...  You much of a gunsmith, Tink?"

[odd]

"I do mechanics, cyberwear, drones, guns, armor, almost anything you can make with your hands"

[RHat]

"So if we did need some custom work done, you'd be able to take care of it?  How are you set up for tools?"

[umraefein]

Draco does some quick mental calculations, and realizes all the things he really wants are far too expensive to buy at the moment. "I know we have planning and prep work to get on with, but honestly, I really don't need anything beyond what I have... Is there anything else we need to discuss compadres? If not, I'm just gonna slot and run."

[RHat]

"Wouldn't mind a rundown of what sort of mojo you bring to the party - ya know, the spells you sling, what your spirits can do...  Makes planning easier.  Also, do you own a gun?  Because you're carrying one on the job, even if it's just a prop to make you slightly less obvious as a mage."

[odd]

"I can get a kit for anything, which I'll do with this extra cash.  I could spring for an armor shop if you can help me with that gold tongue"

[Retrokinesis]

"Not bad, not bad at all. I can do some basic hardware modding myself but nothing more complicated than maglocks and such. If you think you can pull it off, Shark, then go right ahead and look for that gauss rifle. What'll I owe ya?"
So I figure even with my contact's connection modifier, there's no way his CHA+Negotiation is anywhere close to Jimmy's. That would seem to be the case with every contact, really, unless they're super-augmented faces as well. Did you have stats in mind for Anatoli, by the way? I assume you intend for him to show up at some point.

[umraefein]

"Well, as I said before, I can cover patch ups magically. I can also hurl a few lightning bolts if someone needs slagged, or a stun variant if we just need them asleep. You saw my ability with armor spells and reaction boosters, and I can also root around inside people's heads if I need to. My only other trick is growing wings and a tail and torching people... As for guns, I've never used one... or held one for that matter. As for you ordering me around... well, I'm not sure I like that. However, I can see your point.

[RHat]

Jimmy pinched the bridge of his nose.  "Silver.  The term is 'silver tongue'.  But I can certainly help you out.  As for the rifle...  I'll let you know how much it takes for my friends to get ahold of it."

He turned to the drake.  "My point is this - we have to worry about keeping you alive, so you might want to cooperate with us on that score - and the few other runner mages I've come across have trained with and carried a piece so that they could fight without having to worry about knocking themselves out; something you might want to consider.  You got any kind of traffic with spirits, or is it just spells with you?"

Given the role of a sovetnik, I figure him as a pretty serious Speaker's Way adept or something similar.  Any way you slice it, though, he is a dangerous man.

Seems like there should be a way to use group contacts as a boost for such rolls, though...

[umraefein]

"I can use spirits... Also, I can fight just fine without magic... I just get kinda obvious when I do it. Don't forget, I'm a frakking drake."

[RHat]

"And often times, obvious is bad.  Being obvious about THAT, more so.  Mages are enough of a target, drakes are a whole different story."

[Chrona]

"Yeah, even gangers will be smart enough to take you down and sell you before you hulk out on them." he pushed a glass towards draco and poured him a drink, "And leaving during the planning is probably the worst mistake you can make boy wonder.
So, you run out of magic luck and show them your better looking side... What'd your plan for the witnesses? Now I, Three Star, would kill them. Are you ready to? Even the bystanders? Because otherwise someone will talk, you will be hunted and we," he motions to everyone at the table, "Will be in danger too.Worst of all so will the job.
That of course, would be my back up plan,  i assume you've lived with this for a while and been in a similar situation. So I'm all ears to hear your plan."