Meeting Mr. Shakes

GM: Pith
Players: Aeden, Raggedy Annie, Renegade, Dalton.
Synopsis: The team meet a new potential fixer, Mr. Shakes.
Date: September 21st, 2070


Your contacts each turn you on to a business opportunity. A reference to a fixer that goes by the name Mr. Shakes. Shakes is reportedly looking to recruit a team of runners, and your contact has put your name forward as having a skillset matching one Shakes is looking for, when you indicate your interest there's some back and forth and eventually it's settled that you'll be meeting with Shakes to discuss the job. The location for the meet is an automated food processing center. You're each given a passkey for the gate. The factory is located in CAS sector on the outskirts of the Denver metroplex where it is easily accessed by the massive trucks bringing raw soy powder into the building for processing.

The processing plant is surrounded by a 5 meter tall electrified fence to dissuade theives of the both the metahuman and rodent varieties. Trucks stream in and out of the gates bringing in raw soy powder and bringing out processed soy packets that will be used in food dispensers throughout the city. There is no parking are inside the gates however there is plenty of street parking nearby.

The facility in question is roughly the size of a football field, and roughly four stories tall, there are no windows and only one visible door for metahumans to enter or exit. The trucks back up to a large unloading platform where tubes connecto to the trucks and draw out the soy powder. No exposure to open air or possible contamination is allowed.

«OOC» Aeden says, "How far out in the CAS sector? Or rather, what's the security like around here?"
«OOC» Pith says, "Decent security, this is where everybody's food comes from. A grade but industrial setting."
«OOC» Pith says, "Meaning long rows of warehouses, factories, etc."
«OOC» Aeden says, "In the CAS sector, or Denver Metroplex?"
«OOC» Pith says, "You're in denver, in the CAS sector."

On being given her instructions to meet with Shakes, Raggedy Annie heads over to the World Tree shop, seeking Dalton - to ask if he can smuggle her across into CAS, suggesting that she can just lay in the floorboard of the back seat or in the trunk, making herself invisible with her own magic as a way to do so. If asked why she wants to go there, she says to him, "I… have someplace I gotta be, and I don't have a stick to get me across the border…"

Dalton nods to Rags "Well, I'm headed that way myself, you can ride on the back of my bike invisibly. I'm sure we can make it through the checkpoint, and if anyone spots you, I'll just pretend your a hooker that I don't want my wife to find out about." He grins and heads out to his bike, letting Rags climb on the back as he heads into the CAS Sector. He finds out, from asking where she wants dropped off, that they are heading ina a similar direction. He ends up parking the bike outside the Processing plant. "Looks like we are invited to the same party."

Renegade takes public transportation as close as she can towards the food processing plant before walking the rest of the way there. She plans ample time to stop and get a drink along the way and still arrive a bit early. She's dressed in a thrift-shop grey suit tonight, which actually makes her look more like a man than a woman. She also looks a bit like a corp-exec. When she arrives, she uses the keycard and walks in.

An automated food processing facility. Easily the size of a football field soy powder is delivered by an almost continious stream of trucks, unloaded by giant pumps into massive elevators, then sifted and shunted off through pipes and chutes to be processed into the thousands of variations of soy treats that fuel the city's population. The entire building hums and vibrates with the machinery. There's a small control office nestled amidst the machinery. The walls of the control room are thick and show signs of insulation to help protect the people inside from the noise and vibration.

Rags smirks at Dalton. "Yeah, you're just lovin' the idea of saying I'm someone yer boning, huh?", she complains at him, aiming a swat at his shoulder. "But… what if they see through my spell?", she then asks. "Then I get caught trying to cross a checkpoint without a stick…"

"Yeah, alright… 'Course I can get out there on time," Aeden says into his earpiece cellphone. "Thanks fer th' tip on th' work. I'm sure I'll be sendin' some cred yer way soon, too. Got stuff t' buy, an' all." Then he turns and heads north, heading towards the Metroplex from the run down area he's been cruising for the last while.

Dalton chuckles at Rags "Dont worry, most border guards are susceptable to bribes if it comes to that. I'll cover your crossing, you'll just owe me one, we can discuss payment later."

Rags sticks her tongue out at Dalton about owing him one, but doesn't argue it. Once out at his bike and sitting behind him, she casts her spell…

«Plot» Raggedy Annie casts Improved Invisibility, F4
«Plot» Raggedy Annie says, "Need me to roll it out?"
You paged (Raggedy Annie, Dalton) with 'It does take some bribing to get across, seems border security has tricks to spot invisible people trying to slip past. Fortunately the almight nuyen is always popular.'.
From afar, to (Pith, Dalton): Raggedy Annie is using improved invis? it fools electronic devices, too?
To (Raggedy Annie, Pith), Dalton pages: How much do I spend to get past?
You paged (Raggedy Annie, Dalton) with 'Negligible, 200 nuyen…don't bother tracking it. Things that will catch an invisble person. A mage, a spirit, a ward, a watcher spirit, a scale, a physical search, a detect invisble spell, a detect life spell, etc.'.
From afar, to (Pith, Dalton): Raggedy Annie nodnods…

Dalton grumbles to Rags after they cross the border "Tell you what, I'll buy you a SIN, and you'll just owe me for that, probably cheaper in the long run." he finishes the drive to the meet location.

An automated food processing facility. Easily the size of a football field soy powder is delivered by an almost continious stream of trucks, unloaded by giant pumps into massive elevators, then sifted and shunted off through pipes and chutes to be processed into the thousands of variations of soy treats that fuel the city's population. The entire building hums and vibrates with the machinery. There's a small control office nestled amidst the machinery. The walls of the control room are thick and show signs of insulation to help protect the people inside from the noise and vibration.

"I've never tried to cross like that before!", Rags says, now visible after getting caught at the checkpoint. "I didn't know they'd see right through the spell!" Once at the location, she dismounts and waits wild Dalton parks the bike, to walk in with him.

Dalton nods to Rags "Its ok." he starts heading towards the processing plant. Using his card to gain entry with Rags and then trying to find out where they are supposed to meet this guy.

A number of drones move about the facility, making adjustments, and repairs, cleaning and testing. There is a path painted on the floor of the facility in brilliant yellow leading from the entryway to the door of the controll room, on the border of either side of the path is a foot in a big circle with a line through it…it would take a pretty dim bulb to miss the meaning of do not step off the path.

The roadmaster rolls up to the factory and stops. Once the door opens, a set of steps swivel out from underneath the driver's side door, and out climbs the dwarf. He is wearing a dark blue jumpsuit underneath a grey long coat (Well, long for a dwarf, at least), and has a deck of some kind hanging at his side like a messenger bag, a thin cable leading from the deck up to a datajack beneath his right ear. Once he's waddled around the front of the vehicle and is on the sidewalk, it rolls out. Aeden walks around, looking for the meeting spot.

Rags follows the path, following after Dalton… NOT wanting to stray off the marked walkway, what with the warning of badness if she steps off. Once to the door of the control room, she slots the mag-key (if needed) and enters.

Dalton moves along with Rags, keeping on the path of course, and gaining entry into the control room however he can.

The door to the control room is unlocked, the room is roughly 10 meters square. Rather than the massive dials and readout screens of decades past just a few simple datajacks give all the feedback required. A single cyberterminal with screen sits in one corner for emergencies. These however are background to the six chairs and coffee table that are situated in the room. Five chairs sit with their backs to the doorway you entered through, the sixth is on the opposite side of the coffee table and is occupied by a human male. If standing he would be a bit under two meters, heavy set but not quite fat. His face is ruddy and cheerful, the kind of face that might welcome you into a bar and hand you a beer before telling you what you've missed of the game so far.

Shakes indicates a chair as each person enters, "Please, take a seat, there will be five of you all told, but I'm given to understand that one has run into a delay, so we will begin without her."

Renegade is likely one of the first people there, silently having taken her seat to watch the Johnson. When other runners begin filing in, she turns to look at them. She might not be recognizable to some, being that she suddenly is dressed like a guy.

Rags sits down in a chair, any random chair rather than any specific one that's gestured. "Hoi", she says to Renegade… though only after she's gotten around to where she can see the woman's face. Sitting down, she kicks her feet up onto the table… in a clear "I am waiting for everyone else to get here!" kinda posture.

Dalton takes a seat quietly, and waits to hear what the deal is all about. He says nothing, nor acknowledges any of the other runners here.

Shakes raises his eyebrow glancing at the feet on his coffee table, but refrains from comment.

After a few minutes of wandering, Aeden finds a gate that has a card reader that looks like it will accept the card he got… AND SO IT DOES! He scurries along as quick as his short legs will let him, following the signs of safe walking, entering just a couple minutes behind the others. He moves to one of the chairs and climbs up into it, his feet dangling several cintimeters above the floor. His deck he sets on the table in front of him, resting his hands on either side of it. A small part of his attention is on the small display in his cyber eyes, paying attention to the sensor readout of the roving roadmaster outside the building.

«Plot» Pith says, "There is an /enourmous/ amount of interference from the machinery and insulation of the buildings effectively blocking radio and cellular communication. Anyone with a cellphone, it has just chirped saying signal lost."
You paged Aeden with 'What sort of flux rating do you have on that deck of yours?'.
Aeden pages: Default Flux of 2 (all decks without a signal booster have this) with R2 ECCM. The deck itself is R10 if that helps, but I don't recall if it does.
Aeden pages: Even if flux is dropped to 0, it'll still get 250 range, I think?
You paged Aeden with 'You're going to have trouble getting any sort of regular signal. Reading blips coming and going as the vehicle moves about.'.

Shakes looks up at the four, "Introductions all around, say what you'd like to be called for the duration of the meeting, then we'll get down to business. You may call me Mr. Shakes, to those backing this endeavor I'll be your handler, to you, I guess I would be considered a fixer. Your backers, the Mr. and Mrs. Johnsons have asked me to evaluate you for their purposes before introducing themselves more formally."

Dalton arches a brow slightly at the unique meeting arrangement, but decides to responds "I guess you can call me Nightmare, I'm a shaman, that pretty much sums me up fairly well."

Renegade. Data courier and Decker." Renegade responds tersely, yet in a professional tone with an expert poker face. The mood seems to fit the suit, anyways.

Aeden fiddles with a few buttons on his deck for a second, but stops when Shakes begins to talk. "Call me Artoo," he says when asked for introductions. "I shoot some, an' fight a bit, but mostly I'm a Driver. Deal with drone networks pretty good, too, I guess you'd say."

"Call me 'Rags'", says the dark-skinned elven girl. "I'm mojo /and/ a knife", she says about herself, pulling her feet down off the table once Shakes starts the meeting up like that. She pulls a large 'croc dundee' sorta knife from behind herself, where it was hidden by her jacket, to set on the table, still in its sheath and everything.

Shakes nods, "Excelent, your anticipated fifth goes by Pepper and handles small arms and has some street knowledge which we believe you will find valuable. I've asked you to gather here today to hear a business proposition. The backers of this fairly large venture will, for an extended time, need the services of opperatives able to work in the shadows. Normally they would hire runners individually and pay out individually, and have to deal with the loose ends and expense of doing so individually. However I saw an opportunity to hire a single team, reduce their expenses and exposure while creating more profit for everyone."

Dalton nods "It seems like a wise course of action, the only drawback would be that a single team of runners might connect the dots, and thereby have information deemed dangerous, while several groups of runners would have an incomplete picture. This of course leads one to belive that at the end of the foray, we may find ourselves in something of an unwelcome situation."

Shakes nods, "Quite true, which is why it is your job, and mine to make certain we remain more valuable to our backers alive and functional, than dead and forgetable."

Aeden grins at Shakes' suggestion. "Yup. Denver Data Haven's not two hours south'a here. Just set up a release of all their secrets should we pass. That'll make it in their best interest t' keep us alive. That, or we could convince them that knowin' their secrets'll make it easier fer us to get future work by them done. Whichever."

Rags sits quietly, listening - and watching - as others talk. She has her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. Anyone with a sharp eye, though, would be aware that she's keeping her hands in very easy reach of her knife.

"Perhaps bribery or intimidation are bad moves to make." Renegade offers with a complete poker face on. "After all, they are paying us to do work and have agreed to this team, supposedly."

Shakes nods towards Aeden, "True, though I tend to avoid threats when dealing with backers of this caiber. Fortunately the nature of this engagement is expected to keep you busy for a minimum of five years, so unless you fail, I would not worry too much about them getting rid of you for at least the first two years. Your value should, if you perform well rise quickly in their collective eyes as a 'proven' tool, as you peak in value you'll need to either surpass yourself, or prepare for the point where your value dips below your risk." He sounds coldly calculating as he lays out a simple product lifecycle, though in this case the product he's laying out the cycle for is your life.

Dalton nods "Well, I guess since we have gotton those little details out of the way, what is next?"

Shakes looks over the crew, "The first order of business will be part test, part preparation for the real work you'll be tasked with. We need you able to move smoothly throughout denver as a unit, as such we've put plans in motion to acquire a group of identities that can be utilized to that end. Before I outline your part to play, are there any further questions?"

Dalton shakes his head at the question "Nothing at the moment." he says.

"Chilly!", Rags says at the suggestion of a free SIN, all smiles at the prospect. It'd certainly help /her/ with moving around as needed.

Aeden remains quiet, but shakes his head in answer to Shakes' question.

Shakes nods, "Very well then." He reaches down at his side and pulls a small brown folder out and sets it on the table in front of him. The folder contains hard copies of five bios as well as five datachips each attached to a hard copy. "These five individuals have been identified as actively working in an anti-metahuman cell. They have infiltrated the 'Shots for Tots' organization, a non-profit org that provides free immunizations to children. The members have begun to sneak chemical sterilization drugs into the immunization process for use on metahuman children. At most times the cell members do not work together, however we have arranged for them all to be scheduled at the same mobile clinic next week. We have also put in place that they will be commissioned, as a unit, as an special emergency reserve and educational unit the following week. Your mission will be to remove these five people and take their places."

All five people in the pictures are human. Two men and three women.

Dalton reaches forward and takes one of the folders, sliding it back to his side of the table and opening it to look it over. "Take thier places, which would mean that we would have to work as health workers for a time? Or that we are supposed to infiltrate the anti-metahuman cell."

Shakes shakes his head, "Neither, you simply need to intercept them some time before they return from working in the mobile clinic, you will present a fake ID which will be provided for you, and as you are being processed your data will overwrite the existing data thanks to a worm we planted for this event some weeks ago."

Aeden raises a stubby hand. "Uh, point of interest… I don't care what's thrown at me… Implants, mojo, or th' like, I don't think yer gonna find a way fer me t' look like any of those folks." Then Dalton's answer comes through. "Oh. Well, I guess that's doable. We need t' give people shots or anything while we're at this clinic?" he asks.

Shakes adds, "When you return to the corporate headquarters and are re-assigned, we have arranged for the personel that are handling the paperwork to be individuals that have not previously encountered this group. Which was fairly simple as none of these individuals had previously gone through a corporate transfer."

Shakes looks to Aeden, "I leave that to your discretion, you must arrange it so that no alarm is raised at headquarters that will prevent your processing for the transfer, whether you wish to replace them before the day's work or after is your decision to make."

"It seems to be that it would be viable to do this before they go to work." Renegade suggests, "It does not seem like it will be incredibly hard work."

Dalton nods "As long as all members of the team have basic first aid skills, we should be fine. If not, then it would be best to do it after the days work." he turns to Shakes "I take it we have the location they will be working at, so we can intercept them leaving. Final question would be, what do we do with them once they are intercepted."

Shakes nods, "Yes, we have the location and the times the clinic will open and close. The mobile clinic will be here." He shows a map of the UCAS indicating a parking lot amidst many apartment buildings. The clinic is a small trailor the side of which opens upwards like an awning, inside are racks and racks of innoculations and extreemly basic medical equipment.

Dalton nods, closing the file in front of him and sliding it back with the others. "Are any of the targets awakened?"

You paged Dalton with 'The clinic is little more than a glorified medkit with refills on racks, designed to just pump out a supply of innoculations after a very basic medical review.'.

Aeden shrugs. "Never had much need fer th' first aid. Someone else always knew what to do. 'sides, I was always speedin' away. No chance to practice it. But I'm good at learning by rote. Gimme a few days, an' I think I can learn enough 'bout th' job t' fake it." He stares kind of blankly at Dalton's suggestion. "Snatch 'em up while they're on th' move? That'll be trickier than most think. 'Specially if they're in th' city. They leave the FTZ, that's another story."

Shakes shakes his head, "The group they belong to are anti-meta/anti-magic. Another cell they have in play adds multiple doses of stimulants to their mix in an attempt to 'burn out' mages. If any of this group is awakened, they're hiding it well."

Dalton nods "Well, I can probably scan them during the workday, and if they are mundane, I can implant thoughts into thier head to make thier choices after work fairly limited. I can do all this with a pair of binoculars."

The clinic is outside the FTZ in the UCAS but within Denver city limits, the main office you'll be reporting to, is in the FTZ.

Shakes looks between you, "Well then, I'll leave you to your work. When you are finished you will each have a new identity to work with, as well as whatever sum each individual had in his bank accounts. I would not recommend pursuing their automobiles or personal effects as the new identities wouldn't mean spit to a thumb print scanner set with the old information, but so long as you do not bring suspiscion on the identity it is your choice to make."

Dalton nods "And I suppose after we have aquired the identities, and been assigned from the headquarters, we will get our next job?"

Shakes nods, "Correct, assuming you have performed to a level that satisfies the backer's requirements…sloppy work will not be looked upon favorably."

Shakes adds, "They're giving you your head in this to see which way you choose to run."

Dalton nods "And my earlier question, what do we do with the people we are taking the identities of?"

Shakes shrugs, "You make sure they never show up to cause confusion…the methods, again, are at your discretion."

Dalton reaches out for one of the chips so he can have a digital version of the information. Then settles back down, waiting to see if the other runners have any questions.

Renegade takes a chip and slips it into her wrist, not only for safe keeping, but so she can read the data on the chip over her image link while watching Shakes.

Each chip contains additional information including video and audio samples of the subject.

The team disperses, to gather gear, intel and to prepare for the job.

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