As you walk into the meeting room you see a kindly looking older man in a well made business suit standing before you. The room is a posh library/study of a house in a very high end part of town. It is filled with old styled but highly comfortable chairs all of which could easily fit a large Ork though there are a few that are large enough for a Troll and still have room for at least a dwarf to sit next to them. Once you are all seated a woman comes and takes your request for food and drink and then he speaks up.
"Welcome to my humble abode. I am sure you are wondering why I called you all here. Well to start with you may call me Mister Fixer. I am a go between for runner, like yourself, and high end clients. I was requested to put together a new team for a very, very important client and you all have been chosen for that team. Any questions?"
Dorjan slips in and takes a seat. He politely declines any food or water from the hired help. He sits in an almost formal pose, back straight, feet on the floor. His hands are relaxed at his sides, but his head moves with metronome precision, every 6 seconds turning the same few degrees left and right, to survey the room and what's behind him.
As the others filter in, he nods at them, he knows a couple, having worked with them in the past. The others are new, but that's nothing unusual. "Only the typical, which I suspect will come in due time. Mission, Objective, Reward." He speaks with a slight accent, faintly mixed of New York and some foreign accent as well. His words are clipped, but polite.
Smiles strolls into the room arms clasped behind him whistling tonelessly, and wonders around for a few moments looking at any nick-knacks that might be about. He's wearing his typical thread bare pinstripe suit and matching fedora, both clean but hopelessly tattered and frayed. Anyone who's worked with him before might note a rather subdued take on his typical face paint today, which consists simply of a white base and pencil thin black lines down both eyes and across the mouth.
He nods politely at Dorjan, then does a doubletake, trying to place the other mans face. "From that thing in Denver last year?"
He takes a seat in one of the over sized chairs, sprawling comfortably. "Water'll be fine miss," He says to the woman taking food orders. "And a spot of fruit if you have any. "
"Nothin' more than my friend here has already asked." Responding to Mr. Fixer.
Dorjan nods. "I've never been to Denver, I think you have me confused with someone else." He says dryly, raising one eyebrow with a hint of humor.
Bob enters the room.
A 5'8 asian looking guy, he is wearing a business like suit along with gloves a large italian hat and a large pair of sunglasses.
He briefly look at everyone present and nodded to each before sitting on a chair.
Stag enters the room. He usually doesn't spend time in this part of town - always a hassle to make it trough all the checkpoints. But work is work, and the money is probably good two, so some discomfort is worth putting up with. He made sure to dress the part: his red trenchcoat is perfectly clean and his shirt is newly pressed. He even bought a tie for the occasion! (Sadly - the tie he picked didn't really match the rest of the attire, teal and red is a no go, but he was blissfully unaware)
He sits down in one of the remaining chairs and looks around. There were some familiar faces - but mostly strangers. He heard about some, sure, but not enough to actually recognize them himself. "I'll just have some still water - thanks. Just had lunch before I left." When his order arrives he merely samples the liquid before putting the glass down and leaning back into the chair.
"I too would prefer to get into the details. The questions will probably come after that." His English has neither accent or dialect - almost like a newsanchor but less formal.
"Is my record going to be a problem?" Lyst asks from behind tinted glasses. "Seems like nobody wants a guy with a record these days."
From his position near the front of the room he whispers something to the girl about not being "too good for soy" and accepts some food. Though he has dressed well for the occasion and his backpack speaks to his meticulous preparation, he seems ready to leave at the drop of a hat.
-Posted with Wayfinder
The man grins."I am simply setting you up together and giving you a quick test run before I send you to the client directly. And I assure you your record will not be a problem."He then clears his throat and takes a drink of the water the young woman hands him it is only then that you can get a really good look at her and tell she is an Elf that is shorter than average and fairly plain looking."The job is a quick snatch and grab from a research facility of Black Adder Heavy Industries. I will leave it up to you to decide how you go about it. Either a Data Steal or stealing the Physical Server the data is backed up on. Oh and before I forget. If you can cause as much damage to their equipment as possible."The young elven woman hands you all a file containing electronic paper that has wireless off."The file contains all the information we have."
Dorjan nods, reads the file, and nods. "Define maximum damage. Wet work, or property?" He clarifies, his voice neutral.
Stag takes the file and looks it trough. Without looking up from the paper he asks "Also - do we have a spending account on this one? I see no details about payment - I'm sorry to come of as paranoid - but it is one detail I prefer to work out in advance..."
The man smiles."5000¥ upon delivery of the information to myself, plus an additional 1000¥ for each of the five buildings destroyed. The run will need to be at night. That is why the security will be relaxed to only that level. That is unless you want to deal with 25 Full Armoured Cyber enhanced Juggernauts that form their daytime security."
"One thousand for destroying an entire building? You can't even hire a cut-rate demo crew for that, and that's operating on the consent of the company." Lyst retorts indignantly.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"The difference is only an idiot would use their own explosives in this situation. After all you are going to a Military Contractor's R&D facility."
Stag makes a mental note to bring his tag eraser. Might come in handy.
"Hmm. It is a tight budget - but doable. Is there any intel on where the data is kept or is this it?" he waves the paper in the air.
"You shouldn't need to use much of your own gear unless you do something stupid. Plus the advantage is most of the things they have there are only tagged with a single RIFD tag if they even have one. If you want I can probably get you lot a tag eraser to use afterwards for any of the "Bonuses" you pick up for yourselves."
He leans back in the chair again and puts away the document inner pocket.
"Very well then. 5000¥ for the paydata and up to double as a bonus. Might require a few days of legwork first - I assume this operation is not too time critical? The report lacks some information - mainly numbers and routine - as well as non-human defences such as drones, hounds, cameras and such fun. But it appears doable ..."
"It contains all the intel we could confirm. It appears they use Unpredictable patterning in their security measures. Though we have learned there Matrix security is fairly relaxed given the fact that they are isolated. This means you will have to be on the campus to hack in."
Smiles looks through the file then whistles approvingly, "Yep, those sure are words." Looking up at Mr. Fixer he asks, "Nothing tangible in the astral end of things? Wards or widgets or wizards or wonkers, that sort of thing?"
Mister Fixer sighs and slumps down."We don't have the ability to look into their Astral Defenses as of right now. Part of the reason most of this team is Awakened."
Dorjan nods. "Doable. The main problem will be suppressing the emergency call the put out. Once that's done, then the location is isolated, so we should have time to transfer explosives from one building to another." He nods. "We'll need a few days to plan. We probably ought to hit it when the fewest people are there as possible. Keep the body count down. Ok, let's go folks, anyone have a spot to hang out while we research? Or do we meet somewhere after we've all done our research separately."
You see Fixer nod to the woman who nods back then leaves and returns a few seconds later. When she returns she hands each of you a key and a map with a location marked. Fixer then speaks."You all may use the building marked as your Headquarters as you see fit. You will also find some presents there as we."
As the conversation starts to get in to the details, a fairly well dressed elf enters the room and takes a seat on the armrest of one of the larger chairs.
"Sorry I'm late, traffic was horrible and the agent at that last Lonestar check point was an asshat. So what did I miss?"
Bob will nod at the new arrival.
he puts the data chip in a pocket and the map with the key in an other
So the run is due tonight that leaves little time to do some background information on the company
How important are they as a contractor and to the military ?
Dorjan nods to the new guy, and then raises an eyebrow to Fixer. "That the last of us?" He then continues at the affirmation. "Excellent. I am Secerator..." It sounds vaguely European when he says it, Sess-rah-tor. "...and my specialty is long distance removal of problems. Ideally I would be on some rather high point within a half mile, and then begin to remove the security detail one at a time prior to your entrance to the facility. That's after we've isolated it. Jammer, hacked hardline if they have one. And the rest of you, and your specialties?"
Forgery, and i can handle myself in a fist fight, i don't use guns Bob simply reply.
Mr Fixer how long do we have to give you an answers about taking the job? as i might want to get some background info on the Corporation that is the target and also discuss a few strategies and aspect of this run with these Runners before. My point of few is that the less casualty, and damage / destruction we do the less incentive we give a Military Contractor, with 25 Cyborg Juggernaut amongst other things, to come after us in order to make an example.
"Stag - I'll prefer lighter arms and close distance. I'll make my way close and eliminate any stragglers that hide or otherwise are hard to tag with the sniper rifle."
"You can call me Lyst. I can get into places people don't want me in, whether by matrix or through the door. Biometrics, maglocks, overzealous security guards, not a problem."
-Posted with Wayfinder
As an opportunity presents its self Peck smiles easily and introduces himself. "I'm Peck, and well as my mother used to say I have the gift of gab. I focus on bypassing and dealing with issues by talking through them until talking wont work anymore. Then I shoot them, or let someone else more adept at that type of persuasion take over."
Smiles puts the key in his jacket pocket. "I hurt people's feelings." The key slips through a hole in the pocket and lands in his lap. "Sometimes that's by sneaking into their secure places," He continues, taking his hat off, tossing the key in the hat, and putting the hat back on his head. "and messing with their secure things without their express permission. Sometimes that's by making them feel like their flesh is melting off. Pretty good at making hard targets a lot more manageable. I'm also not half bad at figuring out how to use things if you give me a couple minutes alone time with them. Might help on this particular gig if no one else knows how to set up the party favors we find. Oh yeah, name's Smiles. And uh, I don't use guns either."
At the second mention of not using guns, Lyst casts a suspicious sideways glare towards Fixer.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Dorjan grins at Lyst. "If it makes you feel any better, I love guns. Big guns, small guns, guns that go boom, guns that go phhht, guns that shoot far, guns that shoot close, cannons, machines guns, sniper rifles, really love sniper rifles."
"Great. So if we get into a gun fight, it will be my skin in the game. I guess I'll cross my fingers and hope you don't accidentally shoot me."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Stag glances at Mr. Smiles - A mage - great... Just my freaking luck. He clears his head by shaking it - no need to botch this just yet. On the topic of shooting he adds in a hopeful tone
"Let us make sure we don't need any two sided firefights then"
Dorjan frowns. "I assure you, when I shoot you, will not be accidental." His accent thickens significantly, sounding almost Russian for a moment.
"Better get it right on the first shot then."
-Posted with Wayfinder
-Posted with Wayfinder
Dorjan looks shaken, but he grins gamely. "Sure, will make sure done first time. Prefer eye or brain stem?"
"I would rather go for 'if' instead of 'when' my foreign friend. But then again - this language is lacking even a minimum of finesse." His words are still lacking any sort of identifier - but a 'keen' mind might realise he is not an native speaker.
"Right, all the Q and A out of the way? Time to zip up our jeans and begin this thing?" Smiles springs up from the chair and begins making his way to the door.
"By the way, any of you gents got wheels? Cabs are crazy expensive in this town..."
Dorjan stands, and turns his back on Lyst. He nods at Stag, but doesn't respond otherwise. "Right, time to go." He takes 3 steps before Mr. Smile's question is asked. He hesitates, then shrugs. "I suppose we are all going to the same location, just wipe your feet before you come in. And no helping yourself to the fridge. I don't know you that well." He tells Mr. Smiles.
Outside, he leads Mr. Smiles up to a bus. Yes, a bus. A 50 foot long bus with blacked out windows, and the words 'Mr. Johnson's Party Bus' with a phone number under it.
Inside, it's set up as a luxury home, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room, big screen tv. "Wipe your shoes..." Dorjan repeats, climbing into the driver's seat.
Peck just watched as the others bantered about shooting things and each other deciding not to add his own two cents to the mix. Looking at Mr. Fixer he poses a question. "So I'm assuming the most important detail was covered already, payment? And I'm a guessing they just agreed to your first offer and didn't at least do you the honor of haggling even a little did they? Well luckily I know better and know what ever it is exactly we are doing for you its worth more than the first offer. So lets keep it simple and just bump it by twenty percent?"
Pew - Glad I didn't have to give him a ride. Awkward ...
Stag readies himself to leave - but Pecks words makes him pause. Never had a runner he didn't know negotiate on his behalf - but nuyen is nuyen and he could afford to stay a few moments longer. While waiting he booted up his com and sent a message to his sister 'Got a job - might not come home for a few days.'
"Finally someone speaking reason. He's quite right you know. This isn't going to be an easy job. Or cheap."
-Posted with Wayfinder
-Posted with Wayfinder
Yes and i would like it also when you guys are done negotiating if i could have my question answered he says with a 1/2 smile
Since we are on a possible touchy subject, i would like for all of you to listen to my point of view if you pleased. Here is my view on things. I prefer not having to look over my shoulder or having to change city in the next few months. This Run is all about making a a copy of some data located inside a secure Server. Mr Fixer has gone trough the trouble of getting someone who knows about such things.
He pause for a second
So if we don't want that Military R&D Corpo and / or they mercenary / security guards looking for revenge after the run is done I am advising no destruction the bonus isn't worth it anyway with this current amount and trying to keep casualty at zero. After all if we make the run and just copy the date and leaving no dead bodies. Who is going to be looking for something "They" are not sure about. So i would suggest loading and Tranq / Stun guns and any other non lethal stuff
We are in no position here to have a corpo knocking on our door because we gave them lots of reasons to come looking for us.
"It sounds like a remote research lab. They have nothing to gain by retaliating - and corps usually play by the notebook. But might be worth considering... Lets see what the legwork shows"
"As long as we don't get caught or leave any traces, they won't have anyone to hunt."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Dorjan turns to Chen. "That's more a conversation for us to have, not us and Fixer. He offers bonuses, it's our decision whether to go after them or not, as a group."
"Ok, this is a fancy HQ, but it's not our HQ. I suggest we talk inside my HQ. At the very least, you only have to trust me, not everyone Fixer's ever put up here." He says, inviting everyone into the bus. "Soykaf is in the third cabinet, sodas in the fridge. Help yourself." He tells everyone, before sitting in a large comfy chair that faces everyone else. He jacks into the bus's systems, and enables the Anti-Theft, the Firewall, the Security System, and the sound system. As two different random troll acid rock songs play (speakers pointed toward the windows to allow the main room to still let people talk and be heard), he waves at the papers. "Ok, so, our Fixer let slip something he probably didn't mean to. This run doesn't make any sense at all to me, but I didn't want to say so in front of the Johnson. Why they'd have super heavy duty security by day, and jacked up wannabe's at night, makes no sense. If I had 20 cybergoons on my security staff, I'd want them on duty 24/7. I have a couple of ideas, but I want to hear yours first..."
Having driven to the hideout on his own, Stag hadn't seen the interior of the bus yet. Upon setting foot inside (and taking great care to wipe his feet) he lets loose an impressed whistle and looks around.
"Either the security manager doesn't think thieves work night or there are something that is only present during the day. Something really valuable. If I were to hazard a guess it would either be important personnel or they only work with the important material during the daytime and move it somewhere else during the night." He pauses and considers the concerns of their still un-introduced team member. "But those souped up cyber-goons still worry me... "
"Getting the data won't be the problem. It won't be a cake walk, but I think we can handle it. But corps aren't stupid. They protect their assets. Like Stag here said," Lyst gestures to the elf as he leans against something, "that's personnel during the day. But even at night, a weapons depot won't just be left padlocked and unguarded. And even if we could blow one up, they could have chemical or radiological weapons inside that would kill everything within miles, us included." he pauses to let the others consider.