log: Simmons Heist Part II
GM: Knox
Players: Team Simmons (Knox, Flint, Hollywood, Savage as muscle), Michael as a contracted runner, Daemon Starks as the scary mob associate and buyer, Argos as a contracted Decker, Pigeon as Daemons bodyguard
Synopsis: Continuing on from Simmons Armored Car eist Part 1. Several Scenes: A meet, a truck theft, a tense meeting, a kidnapping at a card game, an "interrogation", and final plans are made….just as a Mana Storm is on the horizon.
Date: Winter 2072
Note: There are no rolls recorded in this log posting, just read it like a book!

ONE DAY LATER

Matrix] »>Import/Export«< Knox logs on.
[Matrix] »>Import/Export«< Knox Throws up a pop up question. "Anyone here familiar with BLOCK Security Services?
[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "Not much, unless you mean Bloch security?"
[Matrix] »>Import/Export«< Knox says, "Drek, yes that must be it. I'm going by an overheard convo, didn't know the spelling."
[Matrix] »>Import/Export«< Knox says, "Word is they got some new contract out. Big business."
[Matrix] «The Greek» Argos says, "Anything interesting?"
[Matrix] »>Import/Export«< Knox says, "Allegedly they've banked an exclusive contract with some fading blue blood family from Seattle. I don't know, something like that. Private security maybe? I dunno. Never even hear dof this company before."
[Matrix] «The Greek» Argos says, "Might be worth keeping tabs on, something might turn out of it."
[Matrix] «Eastwood 3:16» Janie says, "Unfortunately, no. I remembered the name from a news article a while ago, but that's about it."
[Matrix] »>Import/Export«< Knox says, "Good call Greek."
[Matrix] «The Greek» Argos says, "Well, I'm bored and have little to do, I can do a few searches and see what I can dig up. Last contract I had got put on hold for now."
[Matrix] »>Import/Export«< Knox says, "Cool. Let me know what you find :)"
[Matrix] «The Greek» Argos says, "If I find anything, I'll keep ya posted"
«Auto-Judge[]» Argos (#11351) rolls Computers + Hacking Pool: 7 + Task Pool: 1 vs TN 6 (to Knox) for "Detailed Search":
1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 8 16 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Argos (#11351) rolls Computers + Hacking Pool: 7 + Task Pool: 1 - 2 vs TN 6 (to Knox) for "Detailed Search, kp 1/13":
1 1 1 1 2 2 4 5 5 5 7 7 14 17 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Argos (#11351) rolls 1 (to Knox) for "1d6/2 days":
8
Knox pages: Ok and what are you searching for specifically
You paged Knox with 'Everything dealing with Bloch Security and their recent activity.'.
[Matrix] «The Greek» Argos says, "Alright Import, got my searches running, going to take my time on it. Might take me a couple of days unless you want that info ASAP."
»»FILE FOUND«<

»>Bloch Security: Denver Satellite Office:UCAS District: Adresss: 146 West Street«<
»»FILE FOUND«<

»>News Net Link : Criteria Match Passages«

»……aging multinational company Bloch Security, a licensed private security firm specializing in locational and transportation security….several closed offices in last two years……stocks down……Denver branch under scrutiny….ex-police/military primary hires. ……Armored Car Division Contract with Denver Museum of Art….priceless antiques, paintings, historic minutiae, …….recent contract is with Sothebys's Satellite Offices…..Bloch Security Confirmed Auction Transport…..Christmas Day Auction….Vocalion Family.«<

»End Data Search«

THE NEXT DAY (AT FALSTAFF’S)

Argos glances around the bar for a moment before heading towards the bar. He didn't often meet people in the meat like this after finding possibly hot data, but… well, one does need to get out and expand their contacts from time to time. He's jacked into his poc-sec and takes a seat at the bar, looking slightly distracted for the moment.

Knox narrows his eyes and chuckles a dry laugh. He motions to the man he does know, Argos, to have a seat near him. "Your him?"

Argos nods his head. “And you’re him. And this place looks like it could use some work.”

Knox noshes on some bar peanuts and does a shot of Scotch. He snickers, "Some work? Old son, our job with the Mob ?", he says the last word quietly, "Allowed me to /buy/ this place. But ah yes," he winks, "Keep it to yourself I like to use that name for trolling." He clears his throat.

Argos smirks a bit at that and nods. "Yes, that work… Wasn't going to get to into detail." He glances down at his poc-sec and it bleeps, showing up the article he found, or at least part of it.

Argos shrugs and leans on the bar a bit. "Well, looks like BLOCH’s in some serious financial trouble. More then likely they've had to downsize a bit, so they aren't the force they used to be, but those that have stuck with them might be some hellions. If they don't get to many more contracts, they'll be a thing of the past and quickly forgotten, like so many other companies in the world. I'm thinking that this job might be what gets them back on track, at least for a little while… assuming nothing goes wrong for them that is."

Knox repeats Argos' words, "This job.", he puffs again, then reaches into his jacket and tosses the man a credstick.

«Stats System» You pay Argos (#11351) 500 nuyen for "Data Search".
The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'Re-education' by Concrete Dreams.

Argos takes the credstick and pockets it without further comment, the poc-sec being placed in another pocket as well. "Still, they knew the risks when they signed the contract, right?" He chuckles and stretches a bit, glancing over the bar again. "So what do you have on tap back here?"

Knox looks at the bar, slightly rusted taps sporting typical Corporate-National Soybeer brands. Mostly light, sadly. "The usual. Risks yes. Speaking of risks, I have a theoretical question for you."

Argos nods as he looks over the brands. "I might have a theoretical answer for you." He looks back over at the ork, raising an eyebrow and waiting.

Knox blows smoke out of the corner of his mouth, he gooses the volume on the trid before speaking again, something about a company called PensoDyne. "Viruses. Or like….remote activated commands in a Matrix host. Are those possible still?"

Argos pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one up, raising an eyebrow at that. "You mean like worms? Or a set of commands that trigger, doing certain things at certain times? Both are possible, yes."

The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'Nuyen Samurai' by Maria Mercurial.

Knox nods slowly as he tries to understand, "Hypothetically….could you infiltrate- say a security company, sneak a trigger in that….say would make an armored car appear to be doing fine and on it's regular route….when it's actually destroyed?"

Argos takes a drag from his cigarette, frowning as he thinks it over. "I might be able to do that… I'd have to find the transponder of the vehicle in question though… Keep it seeming active and have the traffic grid thinking its still moving… it might be possible, yes…"

Knox shakes his head, "What if that wasn't possible? How about, eliminate it's ability to call for help? Could you do that?"

Argos tilts his head to the side before nodding at that. "Shouldn't be an issue, just have to block the comcall… I don't have the utility that would make that easier, but I can improvise easily enough. I have before anyway."

Knox nods slowly again, "And for that you wouldn't need access to the truck, correct?"
.
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

Argos shakes his head slightly at that. "No, but I'd have to be on site so I could see the call, trace it, and stop it."

Argos corrects himself. "Jacked into the Matrix anyway."

Knox taps his fingers on the counter top, "Well here's what I can tell you. There's going to be a need to stop a specific armored car. I need to find out which, and then I need that car to look like there's nothing unusual happening to it, and I need that to be on a trigger." He leans back, "Is that something you can do?"

Argos frowns and thinks about that for a moment. "I think I can… I'd need to hack into the company's mainframe, find the schedual and get the transponder… and then I could set up the trigger for when you needed it."

Knox smiles, "And if I could tell you ahead of time what truck that is, would that help?"

Argos chuckles softly at that. "Should help quite a bit, yes… With that, I can find the transponder, set up the trigger, and then see what I can do about blocking the call for help."

Knox confirms, "All without being physically there, correct?"

Argos smiles and nods at that. "Well, I'm almost never present on alot of jobs these days, so I can do it all from the comfort of home… unless the host is a private server…"

"And how much?", he asks.

Argos chuckles and shrugs softly at that. "Good question… this will take a bit of programming as you stated it rather accurately, this is a virus I'm going to be planting in the system." He leans back and drums his fingers lightly along the table. "No less then 10k certainly."

Knox offers a handshake, "10Kay it is. You'll get a bonus if it works."

Argos nods and takes the hand. "Agreed to that rather quickly, looks like you stand to gain alot from this little venture of your's." He chuckles and shrugs a bit. "Ah well, its something interesting to do."

Knox nods again, he stubs his ciggy out. "We'll see. Why don't you get started and I'll be in touch. I'll have the truck ID in a few days."

Argos chuckles and nods softly. "I'll get to work on my end as well… Don't think I'll need to write out a full program for what you need, but I'll design a few things, see what I can come up with that'll work."

Knox nods and stands up, "I've got a conference call to make. Call me when it's ready."

THE NEXT NIGHT

Little Amazon Park

The Little Amazon Park rests on the east banks of the South Platte River within the Aztlan sector of Denver. This park has been carefully cleaned with magic to keep it free of any pollution, as well as soil brought in from South America so that the plants can survive here in Denver. This park, no matter what time of the year it is has a predictable temperature range of 80-110 degrees Fehrenheit. During sunset and sunrise, if a person has sharp eyes and tends to notice such things, a shimmering green dome over the entire park can be seen for just an instant, revealing the powerful magic over the park to keep it free of pollution and at tropical temperatures all year round.

The park is thick like a jungle, including dark shapes moving in the shadows. There are rumors that actual jaguars roam the park at night, that deadly snakes and poisonous spiders have also been brought in and are thriving in the habitat.

Amongst this jungle in the mountains there are small clearings connected by footpaths. Each clearing has a small picnic table at it and a shaped dried mud type stove with a pile of dry dead wood kept beside each stove.

Where the park touches the edge of the South Platte River though, the magical dome comes down and the fickle weather of the Greater Denver Area ravenges and threatens anyone stepping/wading out beyond.

Knox pulls up with Hollywood in a car, he kills the engine and sits quietly.

Flint is standing by a tree, his bike parked off somewhere. He is enjoying the warmer weather of the park apparently, as his jacket is open and he seems to be trying not to sweat.

Hollywood sits in the passenger seat of the car, stretched out as much as she can. Lazily she twirls a throwing knife between her fingers while she waits for a sign that they should get going to meet Flint somewhere.
Naomi arrives from the hustle and bustle of the overclogged Aztlan district.
Naomi has arrived.
Knox flashes his lights briefly toward Flint, signaling for the man to hop into the car.
Knox beeps the car horn lightly.

Flint steps away from the tree, making his way over to the car. He moves to the back door and reaches to open it, he climbs in and sits down in the back seat. "Evening."

As Flint approaches, Fiona sits up straight and pulls the lever to get the seat back to pop up to her level. She keeps twirling that throwing knife in her fingers, nodding to Flint as he settles in behind her. "Hey, how's it going?"

Knox kills the lights on the car and turns the radio on to some political talk show. It's the elves fault for everyting. Communists in Renraku. He flicks a switch on a small block of circuitry and the hum of a white noise generator fills the car.

Oblivious to any other going-ons in the area, a blond elf makes her way into the park. If she notices anything unusual going on, or even notices the activity about the busy car, she doesn't show it as she makes her way towards the foliage.

Flint shrugs at Fiona. "Going alright I suppose, whats up with you?" He glances out the window, looking at the park while he talks.

Hollywood shrugs a little bit. "Not much. Curious about the new party favor we need to pick up," she replies cheerily. She glances around the park around her, musing to herself while she twirls that knife in her fingers, just below the window line of the car.

Knox snickers at Flint's question to Fiona. He waves his hand, hey they're silent in here and starts to talk. "Heads up. The fence contacted me this morning. Bloch's who'll we'll be hitting. I've got a decker who says he can load a virus into their systems that can be triggered to take out certain security measures for The Birthday Party…..it's complicated. Suffice to say, we'll be getting an inside man of sorts." He waits a beat before continuing.

Knox turns and rests a hand on Fiona's shoulder, "Card game, after hours stuff near the Warrens/UCAS border in some dive bar called The Rusty Snail. Bloch Secman with a bad gambling habit likes to play. We move in, distract, then squeeze for information. Gonna have to get our hands dirty."

A loud panther shriek fills the air some distance away. Or was it an owl?

Shoeshine Boy has arrived.

Flint nods as he listens, still looking out into the park through the window. "Sounds interesting, unless you have some laes handy though, we may want to make sure he isn't talking about our meeting afterwards."

Shoeshine Boy winds back through the park, and head out on to the street.
Shoeshine Boy has left.

"That's definitely handy," replies Fiona, "There's a catch though, I assume."

She cocks her head to look at Knox as he rests a hand on her shoulder. The throwing knife gets put into a pocket as she listens to Knox's explanation. Nodding, Hollywood replies, "Remind me again why we need the distraction exactly?"

Knox is seated in a tinted car with other people. Or is he? Who the hell knows.
The blond elf looks up at that sound, continuing to wander idly along the footpath, keeping near the entrance of the park.

Knox looks to Flint, "Like I said, card game. Lots of money changing hands, jewlery, could get dicey and it's not anything organized. I did some surveillance the other night, four maybe five guys plus a doorman. Shady types and working stiffs gambling side by side. Sandman will get in through the back, I'll take you in through the front with my charm and a dollycart. You pop out, eye candy it up, Sandman grabs the target no ones the wiser." He winces a bit and bites his lip.

Knox continues, "Plan B is everyone's gonna need to be dead, make it look like a fight broke out. Trash the place and take off."
.
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

The jungle like heat warms the soul. A fine mist of moisture gathers on leaves. A large bird swoops through the sky, a faint aura trail behind it.
"That answers almost all of the questions," replies Hollywood, "Except whether there are any catches on the inside man."

Flint grunts "Got a photo of this guy I'm grabbing?" He continues to watch out the window as he listens, not really focusing on anything in the car but the conversation.

Knox nods and spools a wire from his pocsec into his datajack. His eyes roll up for a moment, then a paunchy grey haired human male shows up on the display screen. He shows it to Flint. "You may want to attend the poker game early. Make a few low key bets." He turns to Fiona, "We'll store needed gear in the cake, disposable stuff. Like I said, if we can't distract or the numbers are overwhelming…..we'll need to hit hard and fast. And our inside man won't talk because he's taking a percentage off the fence. And Sandman's gonna put the fear of every god out there into him."
.
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)
The blond elf walks slightly off the path into the fauna, moving far enough to be just out of sight in the lush growth.

"Think we can pass some grenades through in the cake?" inquires Hollywood, her green eyes twinkling.
"Because I have a bunch of toys that'd be perfect for hitting hard and fading away."

Flint grunts "Alright, I'll get in, play some cards, keep an eye on our target. When you folks make a fuss, I grab him and run. Sounds simple enough."

Knox nods to Flint, he looks to Fiona, "If they catch on we'll need to. We've got to protect our source. If that makes taking some nobodies out, it means we take some nobodies out. So we're clear and good to go tomorrow (or whenever we can do this) night?"

Fiona nods, "Sounds good to me. I'll put together some favors tonight, keep 'em ready for your call."

Flint nods "Just tell me what I need to know to get into the game, what name I need to drop, and I'll be good to go."

Knox starts his car again and hits the lights. "Very good. I'll be in touch Sandman."

Flint opens the door and steps out. Moving off into the jungle to wherever he parked his bike before entering this area.

LATER THAT NIGHT, TWO HOURS LATER: Knox hires a local runner, Michael, to steal a Mack Truck.

Quiet. That's how you'd describe this section of post-industrial pitted, rotted, concrete jungle of a mess. One click down the Highway just past Aurora is the target: A ferrocrete rest stop/coffin motel, parking lot, and trucks. Your fixer told you it was a simple job. One night, little prep. Steal a truck, just the cab, nothing else. 2000 Grand in exchange. The contac would meet you at The Ragdoll, a shadowrunner bar for those heading in or leaving town. No name given, just wait in the parking lot and he'll find you. RED Blue lights flash past you as a patrol car for Denver Highway speeds after a lone motorcylist. Easy stuff.

«Plot» Knox says, "I'm sure you could cab it or use a contact to drop you off, then walk. Depends on how you want to do it."

Mike gets out of a cab at the truck stop, setting his toolkit on the ground as he pays the driver with a fake Sin. Picking up his tool bo he does a check over of his pockets, sunglasses and pocsec in thier proper places. Forgoing his buisness suit the russain is wearign denim jeans and a baggy black shirt with a baseball cap that obscures his eyes, and a wind breaker to protect against the december cold. Nodding the cab off and adjusting the heavy pistol in a concealed holster on his back he heads into the rest stop.

«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705) has the Fake SIN RUS-01705-0011YQ-0009BR-TLT (Micheal Chekov) with the following information:
----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]—-
====================> SIN Information for Michael (#1705) <====================
SIN: RUS-01705-0011YQ-0009BR-TLT
Name: Micheal Chekov
Rating: 4
Created: Mon Dec 5 03:00:10 2011
Player: Michael (#1705)

«OOC» Michael says, "thats what im paying the cabby with."

As the cabbie's red lights dim, your eyes adjust to the relative darkness. Pale pools of light are cast from arc lights above that blink out intermittenly. It's deathly quiet, a number of cabs may contain their sleeping drivers, or conversely locked up sardine-like in the coffin motel. The tiny, tiny concrete booth that functions for a "concierge" is poorly lit as well. Zooming in you don't see anyone in it. A few security camera's are mounted in each corner of the lot. The entrance is open for ease of driving. Currently there are seven trucks parked here. Two of them, one on your left side and one on your right, share the features that are requested: Tough, older, and just the cab plus wheels. Somewhere in the lot, a man moans.

Knox pages: One on the left contains a man sleeping in the cab.

Mike puts on his sunglasses and hooking up the display to a port just under his ear flicks through the vision modes available to the electronic gadget as he walks slowly towards the counter checking to see if there is anyone actually in there at the moment. He takes specail note of teh pair of cabs that meet his contacts needs as he walks.

You spot a human male, looking in your general direction. He shuffles, lazily and literally dragging one foot behind the other, toward you. He doesn't say anything. Your vision shows that he's warm blooded, thin, and smoking a cig."

The man, darkened by the pools of light shuffles in plain sight toward the man. "Mister. Mister", he hoarsely states about 25 feet away. "Hey 'cmere."

Mike turns toward the man and places one hand on the gun on the inside of his windbreaker and sending a mental command to the jukebox in his back pocket. As he feels the base knowlege of the gun now in his hand flood his brain he takes a step toward the newcomer asking,"Can i help you?"

«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705)'s Skillsofts Gear (#2982) has the Voucher Item 4 Activesoft:Pistols with the following information:

----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]-
=========================> Item 4 on Skillsofts Gear <=========================
Item Name: Activesoft:Pistols
Item Type: ITEM
Quantity: 1
Fractional OK: No
Clonable: No
Players Can Link: No
Created For: Michael (#1705)
Created By: GQM-Browse (#2873)
IC Location: Carried
-----> GM Notes for Item <-----—
Dec 15 03:51 Chargen Note: Rating 6, customized, size 54MP
Dec 15 03:51 Purchased 1 at chargen for 32400 in resources. Approved by
GQM-Browse (#2873).

«OOC» Michael has activated that on his skillwires.

Knox the man gets closer, within a few feet. He reaks of stale beer, his eyes are cloudy from drug use or some congenital disease. His stringy hair is pulled into a pony tail and his hallowed cheeks sport acne scars. "You, you got a twenty? I'll do half 'n half." The man licks his chops.

Hand still in his pocket Mike smiles and says,"Sorry chum i dont. I'm a little busy at the moment however so i need you to go away." The last two words carry some magical power into the drug addled mans mind.

Knox the man gets closer, within a few feet. He reaks of stale beer, his eyes are cloudy from drug use or some congenital disease. His stringy hair is pulled into a pony tail and his hallowed cheeks sport acne scars. "You, you got a twenty? I'll do half 'n half." The man licks his chops.+ooc 2

The Haggard Man repeats quietly to himself something. "Hey ya know what? I think I'm gonna score some shit. Later." He runs away. Literally

Mike watches the man run and releases the spell as soon as he gets a apreciable distance. Putting a little effort into destroying the link between him and the hobo he contines to survey the cabs in question.

The one on the right has the warmer engine, it also is the nicer in terms of paint/aesthetic/cleanliness.

Deciding on a target Mike picks up his tool kit and walks to the bathroom of the rest stop and locks himself in a stall. Sitting on the tiolet the Mage projects out of his body and into local astral space. Moving through the eather quickly he investigates the contents of the cab nicer more recently used cab.

Your ghostly form floats through the lot. A female dwarf snoozes quietly and peacefully (meds), in the back of a tidy bed/shelf combo behind the drivers seat.

«Plot» Michael says, "is this a two person cab?"
«Plot» Knox says, "Nope, single occupant."

Satisfied with his recon Mike returns to his body and leaves the restrooms with his tool kit. Moving to the least well lit side of the car he sets down his tools and before getting to work, quietly tries the cab door.

«Plot» Knox says, "Justs to confirm you're entering the one with a person in it?"
«Plot» Michael says, "im trying the door."
«Plot» Knox says, "door is locked with a keypad for entrance/exit. Standard rating 5 Maglock. Electornic B/R test to open the casing/surrounding area to expose the wires. TN5."

Sighing slightly Mike opens his kit and sends a command to the device in his back pocket. With the proper tools in hand he gives crackign the maglock the old collage try.

«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705)'s Skillsofts Gear (#2982) has the Voucher Item 12 Activesoft:Electronics B/R with the following information:
----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]-
========================> Item 12 on Skillsofts Gear <=========================
Item Name: Activesoft:Electronics B/R
Item Type: ITEM
Quantity: 1
Fractional OK: No
Clonable: No
Players Can Link: No
Created For: Michael (#1705)
Created By: GQM-Browse (#2873)
IC Location: Carried
-----> GM Notes for Item <-----—
Dec 15 03:51 Chargen Note: Rating 3, size 27MP
Dec 15 03:51 Purchased 1 at chargen for 2700 in resources. Approved by
GQM-Browse (#2873).

«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705)'s Kits (#3009) has the Voucher Item 2 Kit:Electronics b/r with the following information:
----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]-
==============================> Item 2 on Kits <===============================
Item Name: Kit:Electronics b/r
Item Type: ITEM
Quantity: 1
Fractional OK: No
Clonable: No
Players Can Link: No
Created For: Michael (#1705)
Created By: GQM-Browse (#2873)
IC Location: Carried
-----> GM Notes for Item <-----—
Dec 15 21:40 Purchased 1 at chargen for 500 in resources. Approved by
GQM-Browse (#2873).

«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705) rolls 3 (electronics b/r) vs TN 5 for "opening the door.": 1 5 11 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Knox says, "Great and Electronics TN5 as well"
«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705)'s Skillsofts Gear (#2982) has the Voucher Item 17 Activesoft:Electronics with the following information:
----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]-
========================> Item 17 on Skillsofts Gear <=========================
Item Name: Activesoft:Electronics
Item Type: ITEM
Quantity: 1
Fractional OK: No
Clonable: No
Players Can Link: No
Created For: Michael (#1705)
Created By: GQM-Browse (#2873)
IC Location: Carried
-----> GM Notes for Item <-----—
Dec 15 03:51 Chargen Note: Rating 6, optimized, size 54MP
Dec 15 03:51 Purchased 1 at chargen for 16200 in resources. Approved by
GQM-Browse (#2873).

Popping the seal on the maglock proves to be the difficult part but the skillsoft does its wrk as mike watches, straining to hear if he has woken up the single occupant of the cab. It dosen’t take long comparatively to short circuit the locking mechanism, the whole process going quietly and smoothly. As the door of the cab swings open mike takes out a simple pollution mask and put it on with his sunglasses to obscure his face. Closing his kit and plugging the smartlink on his pistol into the induction jack at the base of his skull he climbs up into the cab, resetting his motor reflexes to something more practical. Setting the kit down in the wheel well above the passengers seat he moves as silently as he can towards the dwarf.

«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705)'s Skillsofts Gear (#2982) has the Voucher Item 8 Activesoft:Disguise with the following information:
----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]-
=========================> Item 8 on Skillsofts Gear <=========================
Item Name: Activesoft:Disguise
Item Type: ITEM
Quantity: 1
Fractional OK: No
Clonable: No
Players Can Link: No
Created For: Michael (#1705)
Created By: GQM-Browse (#2873)
IC Location: Carried
-----> GM Notes for Item <-----—
Dec 15 03:51 Purchased 1 at chargen for 2700 in resources. Approved by
GQM-Browse (#2873).

The dwarven woman snorts slightly. Groggy and probably on some drug, she slurs out in the dark, "…Hel…lo?"

"Oh, hi." Mike says momentarily caught off gaurd before saying,"I'm stealing your truck and i really intended on not having to kill you for it. Sit still so i can restrain you." Again the last set of words are magicly reinforced, hopefully making the dwarf comply.

The dwarven woman blinks slightly, her eyes unfocus and a bit of drool gathers in the corner of her mouth. "Oh. Let me help you.", she turns and places her hands behind her back.

Mike feels the strain on the spell but smiles when the dwarf turns around to help him,"good girl." Putting his gun back in its holster he takes out a set of plastic restriants from teh kit in the front seat and put them on the dwarf. Sitting down in the back of the cab he says,"Tell me where your credstick is."
«Auto-Judge[]» Michael (#1705) uses 1 of item 7: Plastic Restraints from Miscellanious (#3016).

The woman kicks a shoe off with her other foot, the credstick falls out from the cowboy boot. "Here shuga.", she says in a dream state voice. The cab grows warm from two people inside.

"Thank ya kindly." Mike says mimicing the accent before moving up to the fron tof the cab and saying,"Whats your name?" as he activates the cab with the dwarfs credstick.

«Plot» Michael says, "that is not a magical compulsion."

The woman starts snoring, she mumbles something out. Janie. Or Janice. Or Something. Her sleep aid kicking back in with no need to maintain much will power anymore.

Turning on the grid guide Mike and his passenger pull out of the truck stop cliping the gaurd rail as he pulls onto the freeway before he gets the cumbersome monster into a lane and turns on the grid guide. Stopping at a truck stop on the way to the meet he puts the dwarf woman in a stall and proceeds to make her forget how she got there. then he drives to his meet and waits for the john.

Knock knock. Someone wraps on the drivers side window before opening the busted door lock by squeezing the contact points. Who is it? The ork from the diner, in an expensive tres chic wool pea coat and grey suit. "Hello." He holds out a credstick.

Mike takes the credstick and thumbing it to check the ammount smiles and leaves teh cab with his tool kit,"All yours sir, pleasure doing business." he says as he walks to the nearest bus stop.

Knox nods slowly. He looks at the dashboard. "Very good." He turns around and walks away. Leaving it there.

THE NEXT NIGHT: HIGH WAY UNDERPASS/RUMBLE PIT

A beat up and rusted out sedan pulls up. The high beams remain on as the car pulls up to the spot. The cars engine cuts. A man backlit by light emerges.

.
Another figure emerges from the passenger side of the car. It looks like a distinctly female silhouette once she steps in front of the lights.

Knox kills the lights behind him. In the background, fires blaze as an underground fight ring gets wild.
People shouting/betting/etc.

Hollywood folds her arms across her chest after she zips up her bomber jacket. She shivers slightly in spite of its warmth and looks over at Knox in silent inquiry. A moment later, she returns to looking around like a proper professional tough should.
.

Daemon Starks takes a drag from his cigarette and exhales a cloud of ghost like smoke into the cold night air. He watches the crowd and waits for his associate to arrive, keeping a tab on the fights.

Knox wipes at some random ash that floats from the fight ring to his coat. "Ugh.", he makes a face. Neutral territory he reminds himself. The dapper ork nods to Hollywood and smiles. He makes his way overtowatds the stepvan…

If you want neutral territory, one goes to the Rez. This? This is a business location.

Nodding back, Hollywood follows Knox toward the step van. She keeps her hands at her sides, visible, as she moves. After all, there's no sense in making enemies while doing biz, now is there?

«Game» Backup to offline storage commencing. Game may freeze for a bit…

Flicking an ash from his black onyx cigarette, Daemon Starks exhales a drag as he steps away from the van casually. Watching Knox and Hollywood arrive, he acknowledges them with a nod and waits for them walk closer to the van.

Pigeon watches the crowd with a scanning interest while Bugsy takes a step towards a ganger who stumbles drunkenly close to the group.
.
Knox smiles like a car salesman or a divorce lawyer. Maybe both. The man extends a manicured hand to shake. "Mr. Starks, thank you for taking time out of your busy evening to come meet with me. Oh, and, Happy new Year."

Offering a polite smile and nod, Hollywood moves closer to the van with Knox. She rubs her hands together when they finally reach the van, briefly blowing on them. For the moment, she remains quiet and stands just a little behind Knox. Maybe she's his apprentice or something.

Daemon Starks returns Knox's smile with a welcoming grin as he exhales smoke from the cigarette. "Happy new year.." He taps an ash, while nodding towards Hollywood as well, "I wouldn't think of any other place I'd rather be for the start of a new year." Starks chuckles, "Should we talk somewhere private and comfortable? Or does this spot suit the topic of discussion."
.
Knox shrugs and looks around. He studies the two people functioning as backup. "I prefer open spaces with deniability." He clears his throat, and lowers his voice slightly. "Spot of business. I think you might be the right middle man for the job. I'm not sure if you've been following the news. Vocalion Estate?" , he shrugs,
"In anycase, high priced old coot kicked the proverbial bucket. Sotheby's ran a little auction here a few nights ago." He looks to Hollywood, "Seems a few of their prized items went unsold due to a court injunction, and shall return to Seattle in three days via Denver Airport." he waits a beat to see if the man has anything to say.

Pigeon spits a wad of chewing tobacco onto the ground. He wipes away the reside on his mouth with an obvious cyberhand that whirs loudly.

Daemon Starks sucks in a slow drag of smoke while he listens, nodding as the man pauses in between. "I've heard bits and pieces… what exactly are you looking to accomplish?"
.

"Very interesting merch, collector friendly," remarks Hollywood, voice low. She keeps her arms folded over her chest and remains standing just behind Knox. Her green eyes flicker from person to person, keeping an eye on her surroundings it would seem.

Bugsy pushes off the drunk ganger and leans back against the bulldog once more, watching the crowd silently.

Knox continues after taking a deep calming breath. "Ms. Fantasia is correct." He smiles tightly, "I recognize that….the items in question are too hot, and frankly too expensive for my skills to turn. I'm thinking, we have the skills, knowledge, and hopefully luck. You have the connections. Invest in our proposition, and you recoup your money on the other end. You know people who might be interested in the item in question who'd pay you back, perhaps you charge them a small finders fee. All parties get what they want. No fuss," he wipes his hands, "No muss."
.
Pigeon softly kisses the air towards Hollywood at her introduction by Knox.
.
Pigeon's gesture is largely ignored by Hollywood. She doesn't even deign to roll her eyes at him, instead opting to shrug her shoulders and fix her attention on Daemon for the moment.

Daemon Starks eyes Knox for a brief moment, taking a comfortable position leaning slightly against the stepvan. A raised eyebrow comes up while he asks, "Ok, you have my attention.. what's the investment on my end?"

Knox smiles. The bait's been cast, let's reel him in. "I need 200Kay total. Plus I have a truck sitting in a location that I need stripped of any tracking material, it's gonna get thrown away." He cues Hollywood to describe The Birthday Present.

Daemon Starks tosses the cigarette to the ground and steps on it, looking around quietly for a few seconds while he breathes in the cold air. Looking back to Knox he responds, "I'll need a few extra details, but I trust you're skills enough to move further on this style of job. Cleaning a truck will be fairly simple.."

Pursing her lips for a moment, Hollywood steps forward and clears her throat. "The Free Republic of Texas, before Texas joined the CAS, called their hard currency "Deciders". We have a chance to get hold of the molds for two and five Decider coins. These molds, I should note, are made of orichalcum and at the auction, before the injunction came down, were opening at 500,000 nuyen."

Knox nods at Hollywood, "Now there's no way I can get that bank. But I'm sure you can do a /favor/ for someone who'd be interested in getting that for cheap. Like say the cost of your investment."

Pigeon mutters to himself. "Sounds like…..foolish….bulldrek."

Knox nods to Starks…."But of course…yea, details. I can get you some, I don't want to show all my cards. Obviously."

Daemon Starks says "You understand the consequences if this job fails and I'm out a few hundred kay..""

Flicking her green gaze toward Knox for a moment, Hollywood takes a step back from Starks. She bobs her head, "I, for one, have a very clear idea of the consequences. They're a pretty good collective motivator to make this successful," replies the elf.

Knox coughs hard for a sec. "Heh, heh….", his jaw makes this clicking sound for a while and a bead of sweat trickles down his forehead. "Indeed Mr. Starks. I think we've made enough contingency plans for a 50kay per head type job." He rubs his hands together, "It's cold out here right?" he asks slightly meekly. He looks to Hollywood, What she said. "Anyway, we can talk more via data drop for the time being. If all this works for you, I can give you the address of that truck."

«Game» Backup to offline storage commencing. Game may freeze for a bit…

Daemon Starks finally pulls out another cigarette, lighting it up with the flaming zippo he flicks to life.

Exhaling a puff, he nods to Knox, "Alright, I'm in.. give me the details and tell me exactly what you need..
I'll make sure it happens."

Knox smiles again, compsure regained. He slides a hand through his greying hair. "Wonderful. I'll have a decker contact of mine set up a secure teleconference (honestly i need to bail i can barely keep my eyes open 3:30 am here) and I'll supply further information. I assure you, very little is needed on your part other than capital." He looks to Hollywood for confirmation.

Pigeon rolls his eyes. He reaches into his pants pocket for a stick of gum. He chews it loudly, looking over the ork's shoulder at a fist fight that's erupted between some betters.

"I believe we have everything we need to pull this off, though if you have a couple of cars you need… Disposed of in a public way…" Hollywood lets the statement linger, making a faint, airy gesture with one hand. She offers Daemon a polite, albeit charming, smile as well. It can't hurt, right?

Daemon Starks extends a hand out to Knox, "Good enough, i'll await the info.. enjoy a wonderful beginning of a new year." He grins, taking a long drag and looking over the occupants of the meeting while it ends.

Knox shakes the man's hand and says something in another language.
Knox says in Italian, "Happy New Year” and heads back towards the car, kicking at a soda can that gets in his path.

Bowing her head, Hollywood smiles. "Thank you for your time." She promptly about-faces with a sort of effortless grace and strides after Knox toward the car.

THE NEXT NIGHT

THE SCENE:
A fairly busy but run down stretch of bars, massage parlors, back alley Medical Clinics and just this shy of the Warrens border with the CAS. A squar apartment block is in the center of it all.

Knox pulls up in a stolen van around a corner from the gambling den. He pulls on leather gloves and checks his comm. He cracks his neck and turns on a police scanner. All good in the hood. He turns around to check out Hollywood.

Fiona is in the back of the van, carefully duct taping the last of her grenades into the interior of the stripper cake. She's wearing a long coat at the moment, presumably to keep warm until the proper moment, though it's obvious she's wearing appropriately trashy stripper heels and fishnet stockings. "How long do we have left?"
.
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

Flint has been around here for a while now. He came in flashing some cred, and playing the stupid ork, or ork pretending to be stupid. Either way, they let him in after seeing the money. Now he is currently doing that whole sunglasses to hide his eyes thing while the plays. The only isses is with any high stakes game someone in the room had to at least see the astral, damn ally spirits spying of course. Flint hopes his masking keeps up with his magical disguise. He has his eye on his target for the night, and is just playing slow and cool, not really lookin gto make any money, or lose any tonight.

INSIDE THE GAME

It's a 20 meter deep by 40 meter long concrete box, a basement entrance adjacent and below the adjacent to the business above: A fly by night "Farmacia Xpress" that likely doubles half a dozen sordid side gigs.
Inside the box, bad posters of trid stars and porn stars. On the west side, a lone large card table with peeling green felt. On the right/east side, a jury rigged bar made of plywood with bug juice/stolen suds, etc. NO bartender.

A bathroom in a corner sans walls. Two players (A card shark in soiled flash clothes, a twitchy fella in street leathers), plus Flint. And the dealer: A hump who seems to have been bred for this kind of gig.
«Plot» Knox says, "Plus the target*"
Knox checks his wristwatch, "I'm waiting on a text from Sandman." He's rocking armored street clothes, frumpy and not his style. A silenced Browning Pistol digs at his lower back in it's holster.
«Watchfor» Carpenter (#3344) just connected to the game.

Flint folds after going about two thirds of the way through the hand, just losing a little before the betting gets big. "Sheesh, for some reason I'm playing like a coward tonight. I'm still waiting on my good luck girl to get here." He pulls out his phone and sends off a text. "Damn whore is always late when I need her." ««Target here, everythings cozy.»>

Standing up tall and stretching, Hollywood seems to have finished putting the candles in her cake, as it were. Hollywood ruffles up her hair, letting it loose of her ponytail as she climbs on up and into the cake proper. "Alright then. I'll be ready as soon as he gives you the sig," replies Fiona as she starts unbuttoning her long coat.

«Plot» Knox says, "You take look around the room: the Dealer/human; Older gent, bad clothes, green dealer hat. Cardshark/Human Male, Probably armored, the target/male human Swarthy/Armored he vibes ex-cop make ssnes per Hollywood's intelligence Re: Bloch. The last guy looks like a tweaker Elf, twitches, crackhead itches. They're all packing along the lines of pistol."

The Players:
Card Shark: Whore? Eh. Me. Pass the pot around. Dealer hit me.
The Tweaker tweaks and picks his nose. "Fuck. I fold."
The Target raises.
It goes back and forth a while/ The Card Shark wins out. Winner takes all.
The dealer looks to Flint again.
Knox checks his pocket sec and gets an email. He nods and turns the device off. He turns to Hollywood, "Showtime."
.
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

Flint looks at his stack of chips, frowning as he picks up a few. "Alright, fine, lets keep going." He throws out his ante.

Ducking down, Fiona smiles, "Good to know." She tosses her long coat out of the cake just before one bare arm reaches up and pulls down the top of the cake. What in the world is(n't) she wearing today?

The Dealer deals. It's a bad hand, and it vibes like he and the cardshark like to lay waste to the pick up gamers here.

Card Shark excuses himself for a drink, taking his time to look at the targets card who remains oblivious.

Knox just barely hefts the plastic poorly painted "cake" onto a metal dolly-cart. He coughs and lowers his leather cabbie hat over his eyes as he wheels the cart across a glass and pot hole strewn street.

*KNOCK KNOCK* on the heavy metal door.

Flint frowns at his cards, folding halfway through now. "I need a drink." He stands up, just as the knock happens, starting to move towards the bar.

Fiona remains hidden inside of the cake. She may be playing through her dance routine in her head as she waits for the signal to start.
The Dealer looks up. "Roy get that will you?"

Tweaker tweaks/nods his head. He tweaks over to the door. He slides open the porthole. "Uh, hello? You the entertainment?" He snickers.

Knox clears his throats and emits a slightly deeper voice. "Yea. Excelsior Entertainment: Dial A Slut Service. You wanted……one Birthday Cake Slut with Slut Dance. Someone ordered it. You Hank Williams?"

Flint looks over at the door, listening faintly and grinning a bit. "Ahh, some entertainment to spice things up." He then continues over towards the bar, no longer focusing on the cake.

Tweaker: The elf shrugs and pulls the door back. Knox rolls in a pretty Cake about four and a half feet by two and a half feet on wheels.
Knox looks around the room and has a small throwaway pocket secretary in his hand. "Uh, hi. I'm gonna need someone to pay for this? Do I need to stay here?"

Dealer: He looks to Flint.
Cardshark: The man scratches his balls and turns hi seat to check out the cake.

The Target: Scratches HIS balls and looks at his cards.
Inside of the cake, Fiona facepalms at Knox's introduction. She shakes her head sadly and sighs to herself, either the white pages needs to update its standards or she needs to give Knox a lesson in making up escort service names. Either way, the elf gets back to psyching herself up for the performance of a lifetime.
«Game» Backup to offline storage commencing. Game may freeze for a bit…
Knox looks around and takes a few casual steps back nearing the door. He plays the part of a stoned, low wage, no interest delivery man to a tee. "I can collect payment after, uh too." He clears his throat, "Ladies And Gentlemen: DI-ANA, the hottest woman in Denver." he announces with as much as gusto as a McDonalds cashier.

Flint grunts and nods when the payment is talked about, toying with a credstick in his hand to pay for a beer from the bartender. As the announcement is made….he looks away….not directly facing the cake…..or any bright flashes that might come out of it.

Knox waits for the jack in the box.

The top of the cake, once Knox starts saying the magic words, pops completely off of the cake and *KLNK*s sharply against the bare concrete of the bunker floor. Fiona pops out a moment or so later, wearing a black lace teddy that just barely keeps her decent, garters to help keep her thigh-high fishnet stockings up, and very tall high-heel shoes. How, exactly, Hollywood maintains her balance is her little secret, but probably involves cyberware.

Smiling brightly, Hollywood keeps her hands thrown up in the air as she swivels her hips and starts to dance. "Good evening, boys," she calls in as sultry a voice as she can muster, "Is the birthday boy ready for his party?"

Hopefully this covers the distraction.

Flint grins "See, now thats lady luck right there." He walks over, stepping behind the target on the way to the table, and trying to stealthily slam his magical hands in the back of the guys neck and knock him out. Thats step one.

Fiona is putting her whole heart into this show. She moves with as much sinuous grace and supple motion as she can summon, Amerind tan skin glistening gently in the low ambient light of the bunker. Hollywood kicks one leg up out of the cake, getting that high-heel-encased foot up by her pointy ear before she bends forward and leans against the rim of the cake. A moment later, she climbs sensuously out of the cake and starts dancing atop it, smiling brightly all the while.

The Men in the room watch.

Dealer: Flubs his cards all over the table spilling it like so much….well you know.
Card Shark: Hound dog. Drops his cigs on his pants/jerks it all through the burned out cloth.
Tweaker: Scratches HIS balls/flubs his cards/drools a bit.
The Target: NOT Fooled. He liiiiiiiiiikes the dance, but he's looking around a bit. This vibes bad juju. He looks at Knox.
Knox: Jaw drop out and sweats galore. Primo turned on and looking away.

Flint growls "Hey, are you grabbing cards while they aren't looking!" He hauls off and slams a fist into the targets face, he figures people will look, AFTER they hear, and give him enough time not to get shot. There is a little bit of magic behind the blow, nothing deadly at all, in fact, its impossible to do any permanent harm with this punch.

The Target: He's not expecting it. 1-2-3 lights out/adieu. He slumps out and starts landing face first sloooooow mooooo towards Flint.
Knox shakes out and wakes up. He looks to see what's up.

The Three Amigos: They look for a sec.
Card Shark: "Fella had it coming." One hand rakes the table and collects some chips.
Dealer and Tweaker: More pussy for them.

«Plot» Knox says, "Long as they're having a good time I don't see them caring about a tussle that leaves the money"

Flint glares down at the unconsious man. Then he grins, "I wonder, anyone a gambling man?" He leans down and picks up the body, slinging it over his shoulder. "He is going to wakeup in the warzone, lets start a pool to see if he makes it out of Aurora alive……in his underwear."

Hollywood slowly, slowly dances and gyrates her way down the cake. She dances around the cake, heels clicking lightly against the floor as she starts making more of a show of it. The redhead bends and twists, making her way slowly toward the poker table, a smile all but glued onto her face.

"Now who's the birthday boy?" she purrs, gyrating behind an empty chair at the table while sweeping her green gaze from one man to the next.

The Tweaker raises his hand. Dealer quickdraws a Hold Out and points it at Tweaker. Dealer shoves the gun in his waistbelt. Whole thing takes a second.

Dealer: "Me."

Flint grins and with the body on his shoulder, drops a credstick for five kay. "Five says he makes it as far west as Sinners Turf, or as far north as the Smokes. That he dies in one of those areas."

Knox streeeeeeeeeetches slowly after the gunplay and puts a hand, easy, on his backpocket/hip. "Hey it's someones birthday." he says joylessly, "Give him a gift Diana.(!)". Knox nods to Flint and backs away slowly from the door, "Hey man I didn't see nothing. Don't want no trouble."

CardShark snatches up the cred (+spend please). "No problem. Good odds I say."

«Auto-Judge[]» Flint (#11485) spends 5000 nuyen for "Making a Bet".

Flint nods "Alright then, to play fair, I'll hold onto him for tonight. Tommorow at noon, I drop him off in the warzone. Your all free to watch."

"Diana" grins brightly at Knox's prodding, rolling her hips as she dances behind that empty chair for the moment. Once the pecking order/birthday boy is decides, she all but oozes around the table, dancing and gyrating behind all three men before centering her attention on the Dealer. Hollywood lap dances her heart out, doing her best to keep the attention on her and not on Flint & the Target.

«OOC» Flint says, "At this point, I'm fine with them noticing, I'm giving us a reason to hold him, and let him go with no chance of survival, and, they profit, no way they will care now :)"

Knox clears his throat and looks at his wrist watch. He casually adjusts the front of his pants.
Dealer: Enjoying.
CardShark: Enjoying (the money)
Tweaker: Pissed his pants from the gun (but enjoying)
After another 20 seconds or so, "Happy Birthday" is sung by Knox followed by the reopening of the box. He smiles at Dealer. "Diania- Ladies and Gentlemen." He gives Flint a wide berth appearing cautious at this whoel thing.
The Target: Slumped and out.

Flint grunts and heads to the door, grinning. "Enjoy the show tonight, and tommorow fellas." He heads for the exit, waiting for tweaker to open the door for him to haul the target outside.

The rail thin elf opens the door and reeeeeaks of piss/bad pizza/bad skin. "S-s-s-s-s-orry."

When Knox finishes singing, "Diana" draws back from the Dealer and smiles warmly. She leans in close and whispers, "Happy birthday, honey," into his ear to seal the deal. Promptly, Hollywood straightens up and starts to make her way back toward the cake, strutting her stuff as she goes.

Knox pops the boxtop and mutters something to Hollywood as she comes by. He looks at Dealer, "Please consider using Excelsior Services in the future. Log on to our Matrix Site to request your favorite slut." He looks around awkwardly for a bit.
Knox mutters to Hollywood, "… … … … … … …"

Flint is heading away, to the van, to deposit the body for Knox and Holly to haul away with the cake, he shouldnt wake up for a while at least. Flint moves off towards his bike, ready to follow after they leave.

"Diana" laughs at Knox's muttering and pats him lightly on the cheek. "You're much too kind," she remarks lightly, climbing into the cake again. Because why not?
Knox watches as the trio debate how to split the credstick. They all carry the stink of too much testosterone pumped into a concrete box. Knox clears his throat and offers a short nod before wheeling the cake back up the stairs into the street. He rolls the cake up the van and voila. Parked safe and sound, amazingly in the middle of a night in Denver.

Flint waits until the Van is leaving with Knox and Holly, then will tail them from behind, keeping an eye out for anyone that might have noticed and be following.

Fiona rides along in the cake, trying to decompress. Mostly this seems to involve combing through her hair with her fingers, eventually pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail that she ties back with a scrunchy produced from somewhere in the cake. "When this pays off, is when," she comments just before getting loaded into the van.

Knox starts up the van and rolls away to a safehouse.

An hour ago, the three individual just crashed a back room card game and snagged one "Richard Glasford" Age 48, Male, Human. Full Time Employee with Bloch Security, Armored Car Division, Supervisor. According to his SIN. Knox slipped a stim patch onto the mans throat as he struggled in the van and he should be waking any moment.

The dusty van pulls around the area a few times before coming through the seedy Zocolo Market and resting in front of a Rail Car / Squatter Apartment / Safehouse. Knox and Flint have tied the man with plastic ties to a cheap metal chair that's been bolted to the rotting floor.

Along the way, Fiona's used the cake in the back of the van as a convenient dressing room. Swapping out her stripper outfit for a black and blue heavy jumpsuit, Hollywood climbs out of the cake yet again just as the van pulls into the Zocolo Market. During the dusty ride, she laces up her boots and pulls on some gloves before, finally, pulling on a motorcycle helmet that matches her jumpsuit.

Having masked her identity, Hollywood helps Knox and Flint set up the interrogation car however she can. Largely this probably involves providing plasteel restraints and keeping an eye out for people paying them undue attention.

Flint is always in disguise when he works, usualy some big black ork with a random face for the day, he can change his face at will, its a handy trick. He remains quiet, waiting for the man to wake, just sitting calmly and reading from his pocsec. "So, are we in any sort of hurry, or do we want to take our time with this?"

Knox pulls a duffel bag in from the van. It's his bag of goodies. He unzips it before answering Flint's question. "Mr. Glasford has a gambling problem and has cashed out most of his pension against it. I'm hoping we can convince him to look the other way and provide some inside credentials, his, and information on which truck are taking the coins and where." He clears his throat and removes several items: A flask. A homemade blackjack/sap. A brick of Novacoke. A throwaway camera." He takes out his revolver, empties the shells, then places that on the table too. "We try nice first. Then…", he shrugs.

Richard stirs softly, grunting for a moment before slipping back.

Flint reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small vial. "Sodium Pentathol, I happen to have invested in some of it a while back, just for…emergencies." he smiles and holds the vial out to Knox. "This will encourage him to talk, and when he does talk, it will be the truth. We only need to persuade him a little."

Slipping back into the rail car and closing the door behind her, Hollywood looks back and forth between the men. Lightly she leans back against the door and folds her arms across her chest, her faint smile hidden behind her helmet. "Hm. Sounds like a plan to me."
Knox locks Out.

Knox nods and motions to Flint to use it, he then produces from his pants pocket a little nose popper. He breaks the seal under Richard's nose.

Richard's eyes pop wide. He gazes and drools a bit. "Wha-. HEY!", he says, "I'm ex-Lone Star. What's this some fucking shakedown?!"
.
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)
Richard rattles around in his chair.

Flint shakes his head, pulling out a syringe, and putting it into the vial to fill it. "No no, just some friendly questions. This is sodium pentathol, just relax. If you don't hold still, and make me waste this, well, then I have to start cutting off fingers and toes, and I really hate the dry cleaning costs when I do that." He stands up, and approaches Richard.

For the moment, Hollywood leaves the prisoner to Knox and Flint. She may be observing as much to learn as out of some sense of this part being the guys' thing. Either way, Hollywood maintains a standard tough stance at the exit to the car. Last line of defense, perhaps.

Richard lobs a wad of spit towards Flint. "Question that."

Knox keeps his face in the shadows for now. He remains pretty calm. Knox grabs the sap, a piece of rubber stuffed with shotgun pellets and taped at both ends. THWACK. A piece of table crumbles. THA-WACK. Cheap plaster shoots out of a wall. "Old son, be a good boy and keep still."

Flint shakes his head, grabbing the arm and then sticking the syringe in it, injecting the sodium pentathol. When its done, he tosses the used needle further into the dark corner of the room. "Ok, well, lets talk about how you do this." He looks up and smiles. "In the star, one of the main advantages is time. People hate waiting, we would let him sit for a few days, bring him in, stare at him, then send him back with no questions. It drives them nuts usually, they start talking just to fill the silence. We don't have that luxury of time, so we have to be more direct."

Knox adds to Flints comment, sticking to the shadows. "Ex-cop, it'd be a shame if told everyone outside who's sitting in here tied up. We just want a few simple things Richard. Maybe we can solve your gambling woes."

Richard squints his eyes, as his paunchy body sags from the chemical coursing through his veins. He licks his lips and hesistates. He looks to Flint, "Don't recall seeing you around. Alright", he shakes his body lightly, "What…whattya looking for?"

«Plot» Knox says, "Sorry that was an emit of Richard*"

Flint shrugs "Were criminals, you work for Bloch, what do you think we want? I'm sure you were briefed about possible risks, I'm supprised your not on lockdown as it is. You really need to get a grip on your gambling, its going to get you killed." He grabs a box and sits down, watching Richard.

Hollywood remains quiet, probably mostly concealed by shadow, and stands guard at the door. She watches and listens intently, studying the three men with inquisitive eyes.
Licks his lips again. He winces from the plastic cuffs and looks over towards Fiona, though the single bright bulb hanging in fron of his face likely makes it hard to see anything. "I smell the stripper." he comes clean. "Supervisor level. My son wrote a program that makes it look like I'm logged in working from home. Heh. Yea I like The Taste. And yea I work for them. Who doesn't have some sin in them?"

Knox moves in the shadows, and grabs the flask. "I don't have time for this." THWACK. Two shots to the kidney. Richard YEEEEEELLLLLPS. Knox pours some bourbon down Richards mouth. It's gooood stuff. Richard smacks his mouth. More more. Knox pours. Knox looks to Flint to continue.

Flint nods "Of course, we all have bad habits, look at me, I rob people, thats probably not the safest line of work I guess." he chuckles faintly. "But, my friend here has some questions about your security setups, you know, holes we can exploit, or at least an accurate portrayal of your security. I'm not sold on the plan myself, and well, since you can't really lie right no, I'm hoping you can tell him something good about your security that will frighten him off."

Apparently Flint is playing good cop tonight. "Thats enough man, give him a moment and he will talk to us. If he doesn't, well, then I suppose we have to switch to a faster method."

In the back, Hollywood's head twitches up slightly at Richard's comment. She may be restraining her urge to act as shocked as she is. An ex-cop compulsive gambler with a modified sniffer? Who would have seen that coming? Hollywood frowns under her helmet, but resumes her otherwise impassive posture by the door and just watches.

Richard nods at Flint, tears and snot pour down the mans face. "Hey hey I'm not judging you. Tusker, I used to work Robbery. You were just a stain in your Daddy's pants then. Maybe I'll help, I know the Game. You'll get caught eventually."

Knox palms the sap to Flint, keeping his back turned to Flint. Switch things up. Knox turns around back to the table. "We want your ID, your Corp Issued ID number for remote and desk log in. And matrix security specs. We'll pay you're debts off."

Flint nods "That we will, I know my days will end most likely with a bullet, thats just how it goes. Don't worry about faces here, we all have methods of concealing who we really are. There is no reason to kill you over this, just give us the information, and we will let you go. I don't kill those that put thier time in as a cop, probably be the thing that gets me killed, but, thats just me."

Richard thinks for a moment. "Pffft. Fine, you can handle a ten thousand dollar debt? I can turn a blind eye. But I've got to report to work, in the morning. 8AM. Don't know what time it is now." He sniffs the air, "I smell Novacoke. Fucking cartels."
Knox nods, and passes a pen and pad to the man. "Your matching credentials and passwords, and SIN information"

Flint stands up, and steps back, letting the man deal with Knox now, he did his part, he helped the man think its better off to cooperate. "Well, the good news, is now we can't kill you, otherwise your information becomes useless to us."

Richard stretches his hands as much as he can in his seat to give his information without being untied. His wrists bleed. He pales. He realizes what a shit ditch he's in now. "Done.", and his voice barely registers.

Knox clears his throat as he passes the pad to Fiona for safekeeping. He still sticks to the shadows. "No. Not done."

Knox leans in towards Flint and mutters something, "Which truck is scheduled for the Texan Orichalcum Molds? General routes? General security?" He breaths in deeply, "We have more questions."
Moving forward quickly and smoothly, Hollywood takes the pad. She tucks it into a pocket in her jumpsuit before backing up to the door once more. Hollywood continues to remain silent and watchful behind her helmet.

Flint looks to Richard "Simple questions, stuff we could have hired a hacker to probably get, so there is nothing here that would incriminate you. Just answer."

Richard nods slowly in the bright blinding light. "Wha…..what?"
Knox makes his way to Fiona and leans against her lightly, to check on her.

Flint says, "Ok, so, which truck is schedueled for the texan orichalum molds, what are the general routes, general security. You know, give us the good stuff.""

Hollywood tips her helmet toward Knox. He can't see it, but her eyebrow is quirked inquisitively under her helmet. She uncrosses one arm and gestures for Knox to return to the interrogation, perhaps a little emphatically.

Richard snorts. "That's the big fucking marquee shipment. You know its going to Denver Airport. There. I'm done." He spits onto the floor.
Knox looks to Flint and shakes his head.
Knox steps back to let Flint be bad cop. Or good cop. Surprises in store for Richard.

Flint moves over to watch Richard. "Richard….what do you know about magic?" He reaches down, and puts a hand on the mans shoulder, his hand starts to glow with a slight greenish cast, and hissing is heard as acid forms on the hand and begins to eat through the cloth, before hitting skin.

Richards SCREAMS bloody murder for a moment. Buckets of sweat. He pisses himself. "WHAT THE. OK OK OK OK OK OK!" In a semi-coherent stream of conciousness the man belts out what he knows, "It's our prototype ELITE truck being used. Extra armor, extra men, extra pay, rigged, the whoe she-bang."That's all I know. I can draw you the general route." he pants.

Flint removes his hand rather quickly. "Sorry about that, did I get any on your skin, it leaves horrible scars." He looks at his hand, the hand still glowing green faintly. "Ahh, great." He looks to

Flint removes his hand rather quickly. "Sorry about that, did I get any on your skin, it leaves horrible scars." He looks at his hand, the hand still glowing green faintly. "Ahh, great." He looks to Knox "Lets get him something to draw with shall we?"

Knox grabs his revovler off the desk first, then pours more alcohol down the man's throat. Richard smacks his lips. More more. Knox pours more, then tosses the pad and paper into his lap. He spins the chamber loudly so richard can hear. In a calm velvet tone he instructs Richard, "I'm gonna remove your restraints. If you bolt, I will shoot your balls off."

Richard nods and starts drawing after Knox cuts him free. "Thi-This is where' they-they're likely to be going from after leaving our head quarters." he scribbles out a loose map heading from downtown UCAS FRZ towards Denver Airport. "I don't know anything else. I just know the ELITE series is a prototype. Above my paygrade, but our best will be on board I can tell you that. It's-, that's all I know.", he ahems and clears his throat before throwing the pad away from himself. "I'm so fucked." he says to himself over and over again.

Fiona folds her arms across her chest again, now that Knox is busy threatening a man with a gun. She keeps watching quietly, listening intently. This is really quite interesting to her, it would seem. Her head bobs absently to Richard's explanation of the ELITE Series truck, absorbing the information as quickly as she can.

Flint chuckles "Richard, tell us the rest, I know your holding back. Look, its simple. We either die trying this, or we succeed. If we succeed, then your elite look like crap, and that probably puts you in line for a promotion right? Your not really involved in this matter directly are you? You stand to gain if others in your company looks bad. Also, realize this. If we find out that you tipped them off about us…..well…I have a few friends that can do ritual magic, and I will be leaving them a fee and a lock of your hair. You will die."

Knox heaves and pukes onto the floor. Blood, bile, bourbon. Breakfast of champions. "It's….rigged." He coughs a bit more up. "

Richard heaves and pukes onto the floor. Blood, bile, bourbon. Breakfast of champions. "It's….rigged." He coughs a bit more up. "Something bad. I DON'T know what. It's called Project Insurance. No one in my department knows but rumor is it's some kind of explosives cache. Home Office gets suspicious, they blow the whole car up. Hardwired Radio. No hacking."

Flint nods "Wow, thats some insurance policy. Makes this a whole nother ball game. Hrm, they would even take out thier own guards, wow, thats dedication."

Knox sighs, then shrugs, "I call bullshit." he says from the darkness.

Richard wipes at his mouth. "Like I said. Rumor. I don't know ANYTHING else. Some brotherhood. Cheese Rat motherfucker." He spits onto the floor again. "You gonna zonk me out now or what?"

Knox considers what's been said. He nods slightly. He produces a stim patch and slaps it onto the man's neck. "Nighty night Richard." An hour later the man is left in a city park, with a certified credstick worth 10Kay. Knox then goes forth to meet at a Highway Underpass, downtown, where he will supply this information to a decker known as »The Greek«.

To be continued……

BLOCH SECURITY: DENVER HOST
Orange-8/12/12/13/14/14
4 - Evasion Crippler-10 Shifting
9 - Killer-10 Armor
13 - Scout-8 Expert Defense
18 - Passive Alert
22 - Tar Pit-8 Shield
26 - Active Alert
29 - Blaster-6
32 - Killer-10 Armor
36 - Shutdown
39 - Killer-8 Expert Defense
44 - Killer-8 Cascading

.

FOUR HOURS AGO

Four hours ago Knox met Argos aka The Greek off a highway where there's a clear blindspot in the perpetual security cameras off Downtown. He hands him a datachip. On it were a Bloch Security employee's credentials and remote log on information. Argos is told that this man would not be logging on tonight. Knox said, in his grating smoothness, "I believe this should help you. Here's the money." And now……

Argos has the chip in hand… and gets his butt back home to get ready to put it to use. His deck and satellite hookup are already set up, so he just has to jack in… and enter the virtual world where he does his best work. First, getting beamed up to a satellite…

Argos gets into the satellite… and beams right back down to earth's networks, logging into the RTG, and then finding his way onto the LTG… he has the address he needs, so he zips over to the Host… and logging in shouldn't be a problem as he starts to load up the passwords.

BLOCH SECURITY

….PASSWORD

….ACCEPTED»Welcome RICHARD GLASFORD«

»YOU HAVE TWO NEW MESSAGES«

….

BLOCH Security's HOST sports a simple Corporate Military Motif. Long Hallways. Locked Rooms. Guards in Light Security Armor Patrolling/Drab Unisex Icons going to and fro along the blue hued dataspace.

Your View DE-REZZES for a moment.

OOPS! ::You seemed to have caused an unknown error. Try reloading your workpage.::

Nothing Happens. Success!

Argos takes a minutes to find a good spot to place his virus… and uploads the Command Set. Now to wait and hope that his program will work like it's supposed to."

Argos plants the command set… and logs out. His job is done, and when he gets back to his meet, he calls up Knox. "The package has been delivered, should do what it was made to do… rest is up to you. Good luck, omae."

Knox is in his office when he gets the call. “Thank you Greek.” He hangs up, straightens his tie and heads downstairs.

Knox steps down from upstairs, he looks pretty happy.
Fiona is seated at the bar, lazily twirling a swizzle stick in her untouched beer. She looks up and waves, "Hey, Henry. How's it going?"

Knox lights a fresh cigarette. Cloves scented. "We need to plan this asap. We've got as much intel as possible, my contacts….lets just say they don't walk in these circles. We need to start planning. And with this storm coming, things could get hairy"
"Agreed," replies Hollywood, "This weather gives me the heebie-jeebies. I saw pink lightning on my way over here."

Knox nods, "When can we all get together?"

Fiona shrugs, "If Flint's free, we could probably get together now."
The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'I got 99 problems, but a slitch ain't one of em' by G-Cap.

You say "And Alex?"

Smiling warmly, Fiona picks up her swizzle stick and twirls it in her fingers. "I can give him a call, get him here in a hurry," she replies cheerily.

Knox holds up a hand, "What are your thoughts on him? Is he reliable?"

Effek walks into Falstaff's. Effek has arrived.

"Alex is good people," replies Fiona, seated at the bar. She's absently twirling a swizzle stick between her fingers. Glancing over her shoulder, the elf nods to the entering Effek before looking back at Knox. "He's very good at what he does."

Effek enters the bar pushing the door open and closing in casually. The big troll doesn;t find it hard to move around the people and make his way to his thrown (any bar stool). Taking a seat he nods to Hollywood and orders a drink getting comfy.

Knox is standing at the foot of the staircase talking with Hollywood.

The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'Su Casa es Mi Casa' by Maria Lopez.

"So," offers Fiona, gesturing with one hand and its captive swizzle stick. She cocks a red eyebrow at Knox, apparently waiting for input from him.

Knox responds, "I'll just have to take your word for it." He looks at a wrist watch. "Why don't you call them? We'll have a quick talk. Then detail it out later. The uh," he looks to Efffek, "Suprise party."

Nodding, Fiona pulls out her cell and hits speed dial. Holding the phone up to her ear with one hand, her other hand offers her mouth her heretofore untouched beer. She chats on the phone for a few moments, smiles, and hangs up. "Alex'll be here in a couple minutes. Caught him on the way from the gym."

The bartender tonight Carlos, a soft southern flecked beefcake ork in tight clothes, smiles at Effek. "What can I getcha shuga?"

Knox nods and texts someone on his pocsec. "Just a quick review." He nods to a side table.

Effek smiles and nods "How about the casual brew for me tonight."

Fiona salutes to Effek as she stands up, swaying her way toward Knox's table. She settles down on a chair and leans back against a wall, sipping her beer lazily.

Hollywood sits down at a table in the corner. (Place #5)
Hollywood has joined your place.

The door to Falstaff's opens up, as Savage slips inside. He's wearing a hoodie and a pair of jeans, and had been walking home when his cell phone went off. Upon answering it, he quickly switched directions and then headed into the bar. Upon spotting Fi, he made his way over to her table, and sat down.

Flint steps into the bar and pauses just inside the door. He glances around briefly, scanning the place and after spotting Knox and Fi he grunts faintly and heads in thier direction. He frowns slightly though as Savage takes a seat there, and looks at Knox. "Whats up?"

The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'Distortion' by Rebel Tusks.

Fi leans over and kisses Savage on the cheek. She leans back against the wall again, offering her beer bottle to Savage in the process. "Some weather, huh?"

Knox motions and waves at Flint as he leans in quietly and shoves his seat closer to the table

At the table, Knox clears his throat.

Hollywood waves to Flint. "C'mon, take a seat," she calls cheerily, "Surprise party planning meeting."

Flint sits down at a table in the corner. (Place #5)

Flint has joined your place.

Flint takes a seat, sitting down. He looks to Fi "So, whos your boyfriend here? Is he supposed to be helping us with the chores?"

Knox looks over at Effek for a moment, before looking at the group. "Might want to lower our voices eh?"

Effek sips on his brew picking at a bandage on his face.

At the table, Hollywood gestures to Savage, "Flint, meet Savage. Savage, meet Flint." She purses her lips
for a moment, glances over at Knox, then looks back at Flint. "Sav's filling Johnny's slot on the team."

At the table, Knox mutters to himself. "That rat fu-, that damned boy owes me a sundry."

The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'Can we forgive?' by Clarence Red Feather.

At the table, Savage nods and offers a hand to Flint, "Guess I'm the last minute replacement, but I'm sure I'll be able to Cover everything that Johnny would have been able to do."

A trio of blue collar but dangerous looking types enter, and grab a few beers. They leer at Carlos. But hey, the soy-beer's cheap.

At the table, Knox waits for introductions to be made before he gets to it.

Effek peers over at the gentalmen nodding and then going back to his usual task. A grim night for the troll as he holds his side for a couple of seconds everytime he moves fast.

At the table, Flint grunts and accepts the handshake. "Actually, don't do that. Johnny was a moron, as long as you don't do anything stupid, we will get along fine." He looks over to Knox. "I got one question, whats this job worth, cause from the info we got, this things going to be difficult, it better be paying a drekload."

The ork nods, "And you're right. Very dangerous, but I plan on taking a nice break after this."

At the table, Knox looks to Fiona, "We spoke with the investor, we're looking at pulling down 50 to 70 kay. Per person." The ork nods, "And you're right. Very dangerous, but I plan on taking a nice break after this."

At the table, Hollywood smirks slightly at Flint's response to Savage. She takes a sip of her beer and continues to lounge comfortably. "Just so long as we make sure we pull this off for the… Investor. His muscle is kind of ill-mannered and stupider than the average brick of drek."

At the table, Flint frowns slightly. "What sort of assets do we have available? Thats a good sum of money, but an armored car is never an easy target. Without heavy magical support, we have to take it in the open, and that causes all sorts of time constraints."

At the table, Savage nods and hmms, "I'll try to keep that in mind." Savage replies, as he sits back and listens in for now, letting the others do most of the talking.

At the table, Knox nods in agreement to Fi's comment. "I'm more concerned in the hit to my rep if we don't." He shrugs, "BUt if anyon can't handle this….now's the time to head for the door." He starts to list what Simmons has.

The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'A Bullet A Day Keeps My Enemies Away' by Billy Bo Bob Tucker.

At the table, Knox leans in, "Between the three of us and Alex, with your input, we've gotten some solid intelligence and talent. We have the general route, and basic security information for Blochs new prototype truck." He looks to Flint, "I'm hoping you can find a solid spot in Denver (on grid) before the airport where we can hit the truck." He smiles, "How do we hit the truck? With our own. I've got a mack truck up my sleeve" He continues, "The Greek is the decker I hired. He's quite the Artiste." Knox produces a pock secretary. "This is the trigger that will is embedded in Blochs security mainfram. Upon triggering it, the truck will look fine by Bloch's matrix account." He clears his throat, "A week and change ago, Fi and I liberated an industrial laser drill. That's how we'll be opening up the truck. We can ignore maglocks entirely if needed."

At the table, Flint nods "Lets hope that this recient manastorm stuff will keep the magsec away from the job. This might time together well. Ok, so the cargo must not be fragile if your hitting it with a truck. So we hit it, cut it open, run off with the loot. Sounds simple enough. I'd suggest cutting a small hole first and gassing the interior so we dont have to fight any security inside."

At the table, Savage says, "rubs his chin a little bit, "You just pretty much answered my question." Savage states, "Was gonna ask how we wanted to deal with the guards. Are there going to be two of them or three?""

At the table, Knox looks to Fiona, and Savage for their reactions.

At the table, Hollywood runs a hand over her hair. "I could probably get some gas grenades. We cut open a little hole, pop a few in, then cut the lock or hinges, go in, grab the goods, and get gone." She swirls her beer in her bottle and considers it for a few moments. "Though I dunno. Our inside man seemed pretty sure these guys were nova hot drek. They might have sealed secarmor, yeah?"

The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'Frankie Dig A Hole' by Creepin' Cadavers.

At the table, Flint grunts "Well, I have some neurostun grenades. The truck should stun them a bit when it hits, so thats a bonus. If they have sealed sec-armor, well, then we really cant do much. We could pop a concussion grenade inside, but that might damage the cargo too."

At the table, Knox responds to comments questions and concerns. "Gentlemen and Lady. We're stealing more than likely sealed and secured Orichalcum Molds. If it can't take a hit while inside an armored car I'll eat my own tusks. But yes- I think our most important concern is 1. Time and 2. Security's reaction. Sealed suits are a possibility, but it can't hurt. We'll use the Lone Star car and the fake uniformas as a distraction." He looks to Flint, "Concussion and Neurostun cocktail."

Carlos gooses the trideo as reports of Freak Mana Storms start.

At the table, Hollywood smiles broadly at the mention of concussion grenades. "I have plenty of those to spare, null sheen." She takes another sip of her beer and glances around the table. "I would imagine they'd have the molds in, like, hardened cases lined with densifoam or, at least, egg crate foam."

At the table, Flint shakes his head. "I'm not sure how the lone star car is going to help us, a security service like bloch has priority, they wont stop for the star. Best we could do is stop it in front of them and then as they stop, hit them with the mack. But, thats two teams driving, so we have to split up and time it perfectly."

At the table, Knox looks to Savage, "You alright? You're pretty quiet."

At the table, Knox looks to Flint, "Thats precisely what I was thinking."

At the table, Savage nods his head, "I'm fine." He replies, "Just never been on an op this big before. Not sure how much I can contribute, but I'm definitely willing to give it everything I've got."

The Jukebox kicks over, starting to play 'Born to Die' by Rebel Tusks.

Effek peers up at the trix.

At the table, Knox smirks at Savage, "Welcome to the real deal then old son."

Knox smirks at something someone says then breaks into a wide cheese eating grin.

Effek looks down at his phone then to the screen again.

At the table, The Plan

1. Team One/LS Car Distract or Stop Van.
2.Lone Star activate Virus
3.Team Mack Truck Knock over Truck. Must be well timed.
4. Secure area, Laser Hole, Toss Grenades.
5. Maglock on Back, Locate and Remove Orichalcum Molds.
6. Exit/Dump LS Car.

Knox pats Flint on the shoulder and chuckles about something.

At the table, Knox says, "Well then, I guess I'm off to get some rest. We'll meet back here in 32 hours.""

Effek looks over at the table with the ork and others then back to his drink. Peering up at the trix shaking his head "Thats no good."

At the table, Hollywood nods and takes a swig of her beer. "Sounds like a plan to me," she replies cheerily, saluting Knox with her beer, "Take care."

Knox eases himself from the table.

Knox nods to Effek and heads upstairs.

You ascend the metal stairs, each step a distinct clink…..

---—> Message #7 on Board Media and Rumors <---—-
Posted By: Knox (#4448)
Date/Time: Thu Jan 26 22:33:16 2012
Subject: News Blurb

Several stations report Bloch Security's ad hoc press release concerning possible approaching mana storms.

"Bloch Security assures it's investors and clients that it will continue regardless of inclement weather it's services."

Talking Heads note Bloch's recent financial troubles and PR stunts to stave off budget cuts in it's Denver Sattelite offices, even going so far as to invest in an all new prototype Armored Security Car for it's first run.

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