[The Big Peat]

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?'

[Xzylvador]

"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.

[HydroRaven]

"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."

[lonewolf1210]

"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

[farothel]

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?"

[Mysteris]

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.

[Xetheral]

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)

[The Big Peat]

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.

[Xzylvador]

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.

[farothel]

"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.

[Xzylvador]

Did troll woman just call me "princess"? What's that bitch's problem?
Silk's remained unchanged, focusing solely on the Johnson.

[Mysteris]

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?"

[lonewolf1210]

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)

[Xzylvador]

Silk's healthy and annoyed.

The rest you can see on her charsheet. :p

[HydroRaven]

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?"