Past the scanners is a long hallway where the restrooms are located, as well as several spiral staircases and the main bar area. Your escort, an elf woman in her 30's with bubble-gum pink hair and Underworld 39 Staff t-shirt, leads you up one of the spiral staircases, through a series of intricate catwalks which connect the booths hanging over the dance floor and stage. The bar, you can see from the catwalks, is manned by six bartenders and as many tables as they can cram in one area. Every seat is used, and a flock of patrons circle the seating area, waiting to take any seat that is left for even a nanosecond. Towering over the seating area is a 10 meter high, bald, bullet-headed statue. Lasers shoot from the statue’s eyes, smoke billows up around it, neolux tubing running the length of the statue bathes it in an eerie neon glow, and holograms and AR wrap the sculpture in glowing, flashy effects. From its belly, a massive speaker blasts out music.
The stage itself is on the far south wall, and huge video and AR displays provide dizzying imagery for Emerald Cacaphony, a local synthmetal band playing as a warm-up for Mercurial. Bodies writhe to the music on the dance floor.
The elf finally leads you up to your booth, which is open-air so you can enjoy the music. If asked, the elf says that MacCallister is running Matrix security and is planning to meet you after the show. For now, she says, just enjoy the music and have a drink on MacCallister's tab.
After drinks have been ordered and delivered, you enjoy the ambiance of the club and the music of the opening band, which isn't bad. You notice, however, something awry when a man in the seating area, clearly angry, suddenly pulls out a gun and shoot a man who was busy making out with his girlfriend at the next table. The man slumps over, bleeding profusely from a shot to the chest, and the woman screams. The gunman rushes to the woman and puts his gun to her head, screaming incoherently, though it's clear that this woman is now his hostage. Security moves in, but there are so many people around, however, that they can't get a clear shot at him.
Crix, with his pocket full of trinkets , draws one out subtly and looks for a good angle.
"If one of you would care to offer a distraction..."
Should we interfere?
"Well, if we don't do something, this could really spoil an evening."
Crix picks up a shot glass and eyes it.
He appears to be an average-sized human and in a regular jacket and jeans, although these days you never know if they're armored or not.
Each of you receive a text from MacCallister. <Think you chummers could handle this one peaceably? I fear anything short of a one-shot knockout or kill will lose us that hostage.>
Jack stands to get a better view of the standoff below.
A spirit can incapacitate him without anyone getting permanently hurt. Shall I?
and a moment later a ghostly, feminine, humanoid shape seemingly comprised of water appears in the air near him and glances at Jack with an unreadable expression.
Jack looks at the Spirit and gestures at the gunman, Engulf the man threatening that woman with a gun. Do not allow him to shoot the woman. Hold him until he loses consciousness. Do not hurt or kill him.
"Can a spirit really approach him unseen and prevent him from shooting? Seems risky to me. Just let me knock him out. Quick as you blink."
Crix also slides out of his seat and to his feet slowly and subtly.
Miyako had been watching the incident and the club's security reaction to the incident with professional detachment; compiling in her head the brief she might send the owners on thier security detail's shortcomings.
Hearing the others question thier own involvement, she was about to disavow any involvement of thier's; it was after all an internal security matter. Then Mccallister's call came. With a sigh, Miyako stands to allow her to get a greater idea of the tactical situation.
Rolling his eyes at the amateur show being put on infront of him, Skull kicks his feet up and puts his hands behind his head.
Well, this'll be interesting. Wish i had popcorn.
subvocalizing to everyone No matter what, we demand 5,000 nuyen once we meet mac for taking care of this. We are not a charity
Your platform is front and center, about 10 meters above the dance floor. The main bar area and its seating area (with the hostage taker) are about 25 meters left of your booth. Using the catwalks, you could drop directly on him, with a successful Gymnastics Test.
Looking up from her assessment of the situation, Miyako's eye widen when she sees that Crix has already clambered out onto the catwalks toward the scene.
Patting 'Crusha on the shoulder as she passes, she walks out on to the catwalk as if on a sidewalk, taking herself past Crix to a position where dropping onto the gunman will not impede Crix's throw.
She times her leap to coincide with his throw, it it makes the man move to either side she will compensate then jump.
Gymnastics = 4 hits
Jack mutters, almost to himself, No one is protecting that hostage.
Jack begins quietly chanting,
and a moment later a ghostly, feminine, humanoid shape seemingly comprised of water appears in the air near him and glances at Jack with an unreadable expression.
Jack looks at the Spirit and gestures at the scene below, When I tell you to go, protect the female hostage. Do not allow any bullets from the gunman to strike her.
Jack will look out to where Crix and Miyako are preparing to act, and will time his command to happen just before they move. Go now!
subvocal to the group Take it easy on the approach. I'll try to get some money out of this. But if it looks like the idiot is going to shoot, then jump him
Replying back to MacCallister thru text.<Would be a shame to loose that hostage. But what's in it for us? My team is moving up and taking position to help, but they wont move until I give the go ahead. And the only way to get that is by offering us some Nuyen. I have a number in mind for this stunt, and if your offer isn't enough, then we will have something interesting to watch. Choice is yours.
The gunman staggers to the floor, hit by an expertly thrown shot glass by Crix right into the head. The glass shatters on impact. Miyako, seeing this, sees no reason to drop 10 m down, nor Jack to summon the spirit. Security, seeing the hostage in no further danger, rush to help her and to throw the gunman into Knight Errant's welcome wagon.
Skullcrusha, you get the following reply from MacCallister, although your teammates acted without your go ahead. <Don't get your panties in a bunch, omae. I'll consider it my payment for the wiz seats and drinks I got you, which you get whether or not you take the biz. Ask any of the scalpers outside how much it would cost just to stand the whole show in the back of the room. I think even you would agree that booth is worth your team's throwing one shot glass for me. In any case, thanks for the help.>
Crouching on a platform above the scene, Miyako watches the security hustle the man out of the club, shaking her head at their poor spacing and inability to deal with the situation.
Standing and balancing easily, she walks past Crix "Nice throw.
"Thanks."
Crix goes back to the table and orders up a few more shots.
Shots! please crix, let us fully utilize our guests intentions. He wants us to ENJOY this show, so let us enjoy! Skull says, motioning to the wait staff.
I will take 3 bottles of the best whiskey you have, 3 bottles of the best Elven wine for the lady, 5 bottles of cognac for our magi, and i think 12 bottles of champagne for celebration on a job well done.
to everyone mac is saying that this box, this show, and the drinks are our payment for taking care of the idiot. Since i value our services at 5,000 a head for this type of thing, we'll recoup some cost.
"Do what you want, but I've only got 2 hands and one liver."
Miyako smiles slightly at 'Crusher's grandiose order "No Elven wine for me..." she pauses as she checks with her PAN for what's available "Two fingers of the Hokkaido single malt....the 20 year...neat." she says to the waiter.
The waiter takes the order, but returns only with Miyako's drink. She says that MacCallister told her to tell them when Mr. O'Bryan has done something for him besides 'sitting on his hoop and sending threats for more money while the rest of his team is working, then maybe he can have his 2 dozen bottles of booze.'
Jack returns to his seat, checks the club's AR menu, and flashes a request for a Black Russian made with Grey Goose (real alcohol; no soy).
When the drink arrives he flicks a 20¥ tip to the cocktail girl, then sits back to enjoy the rest of the show.
Grinding his teeth, Skull mutters [b]I showed up. Thats work.
Skull will nod to the waitress and ask for a bottle of water.
The waitress, obviously relieved that Skull is not retaliating at her for MacCallister's message, brings him a bottle of water at once, as well as Jack's order.
After a bit, Emerald Cacophony finishes their set and exits to a smattering of applause. A tall man in his late 40s with a lined face, dark hair, and goatee wearing an immaculately tailored suit gets up on the stage. He smiles out over the crowd. Alright you brain damaged re-wired mutants! Here's the reason you've been sweating all over our nice, clean floors all evening. Ladies and gentlemen--if there are any out there--and the rest of you trash as well, I present to you the one, the only, MARIA MERCURIAL!
The crowd goes wild as the lights dim, and then everything goes quiet as the first haunting synthesized notes of Mercurial’s hit song “Take It To Mister” swell up from the speakers. A spotlight comes on, illuminating a slender, lovely figure wearing a short dress of midnight blue. Her legs and arms gleam with polished chrome from her trademark cyberlegs and arms. Her voice is as lovely as ever, and the first lines of the song wash over you...
You couldn’t take them on yourself,
But you knew just what to do,
To find someone who would help.
When they burn out the farm, Or ravish your sister,
You put your hat in your hand And take it to Mister,
Take it to Mister
Then, as they will, all these things changed their way.
The ones who guarded you proved false.
The lord, the patron, the grand seigneur,
Helped themselves and no one else.
So they ravished the land
And whored with your sister,
They made you rip out your pride
And take it to Mister.
Now, we have learned there is another way.
To face the future for ourselves,
We all know what we must do.
If you want to take back what they stole
Feed the rage in your heart
Till it’s ready to blister.
Now put your gun in your hand
And TAKE IT TO MISTER!
Mercurial plays a two hour show before wrapping up. Several up and coming bands go on after her, but it’s clear that a lot of the patrons consider the concert over. Your escort to the booth, the elf with the pink hair, now offers to take you to the room where MacCallister is set up.
Crix shrugs, pockets his empty glasses, and looks to his team to see if they're ready.
Grabbing his bottle of water, skull follows the escort.lead on, fair maiden.,
As he walks, skull glances about, looking at the layout, the location of the security guards, what the security guards have for equipment, the neareat exit.
Miyako finishes her drink, then nods to the others and follows the elf.
Crix follows, keeping an eye out for danger, especially walking into a trap.
Jack stands and follows the elf, carrying his second screwdriver with him.
The waitress leads you into the backstage area, past a couple of large and obviously chromed bodyguards who stand guard. Near the ceiling you see a small Japanese boy floating and translucent, obviously a manifested spirit of some kind. Security is tight, but that’s not surprising considering the superstar in attendance. Down the hall you can see MacCallister talking with Mercurial. He smiles and nods to her, then heads toward your group.
Hoi chummers! He calls out. This way, please. He motions to a door to your right. Inside is a small room with a table and a handful of chairs around it. It’s a tight squeeze, but you manage to get the entire group inside and sit down. Once the door is closed, the roar of the music and crowd cuts off thanks to soundproof walls.
MacCallister is wearing an old, worn, oft-patched armored leather jacket with a faded Mercurial T-shirt and jeans. Strapped to his arm is something like a keyboard, and while he doesn't look like the average fixer, he definitely looks like a tough old shadowrunner.
I want to thank you for taking care of the hostage situation, first off. Thought your chances of saving the hostage were better than the rent-a-cops. he sighs. Security on the net was fine. Fended off a few viral attacks, nothing too serious, but you can't never be too careful, in our biz. Hope you enjoyed the show!
Now, down to business. Got a call from one of my contacts that an archeologist named Fiona Craig is missing. She flew into Sea-Tac last night from Greece, but doesn't live here in Seattle. From what I can tell, she vanished sometime after leaving the airport. Missed a couple of meetings she was supposed to have been at. That's the job; Find the woman and report back to me. I can offer you 3000¥ a piece for the job.
WOW! an actual keyboard. Man i havent seen one of those since the 60's. That is defenitly old school.
mustve been kidnapped by Belloq. Skull says no to one in particular.
can you tell us more about her, Mac? In what way was she important? What were her meetings about? where and when were they? What was the flight number and arrival time for the plane? I think we can get a plane manifest later. Was she picked up at the airport, or rent a car? or take a cab? Do you know how long she was staying for? Did she have any enemies? Any in-town friends? Did she have a hotel room? Do you have an image of her that we can see? Skull asks his question in a serious tone, with each question, he points at a finger.
His eyes light up at the mention of the keyboard, which he pats fondly. It's my deck. Been with me since my running days; don't trust those new commlinks. Don't worry, though, I keep her up-to-date with the latest processors. She may not look like much, but she'll process circles around those cheap comms you kids run around with.
At Skull's questions, Mac raises his eyebrows. That's what I'm hiring you to figure out. I've told you all I know, all my client told me. I'm not expecting it to be a difficult job. Some might think four runners would be overkill for a job like this, but my client and I wanted a team that could handle whoever took Craig, whoever he, she, or they might be. That's where you guys come in. Dig around and find this archeologist. So, are you all in?
"So are you fronting any hardware for the job? Maybe a nice ride? A spare guard? A handful of grenades? Something like that?" Crix asks, hopeful.
"And can we call on your services if we need a system hacked or some matrix digging done? You seem to know your way around computers." he says, smiling at MacCallister in his best impersonation of charming.
Allowing the others to interrogate their possible employer, Miyako bides her time until there is a pause in the conversation.
"Come now, MacCallister, you know our reputations...that's why you contacted us. I think finding the archaeologist should be worth 5000¥ each to your client ".
Charisma+Negotiation Test = 1 hit, 1 glitch
Mac cracks a grin at Crix's first question, as though he can't decide whether Crix was being serious or not. In the end, he just says, I'm not fronting hardware. Doesn't look like you'll need anything but legwork and a pistol, just in case.
At the second question, he looks thoughtful. I don't think you'll need a decker of my caliber or paygrade for this job, and I'm a fixer now. Doesn't leave me a lot of time to hack. Plus, why would I hire you if I could just do the biz myself?
To Miyako, he replies You don't have a reputation that would command 5000¥ a head for an easy job like this. All I need you to do is find a missing person. That's as legal and simple as a job in the shadows gets. 3000¥ per person, take it or leave it. I'm sure I can find another team if you're not happy with the pay. he says and awaits your answer, hands folded.
Miyako gazes as Mac coolly, then nods to accept his conclusion. "So the latest intel gives her last location as having left Sea-Tac, what was her transport? Private , Public ?"
Jack seems on the verge of saying something when Miyako speaks up, so he just holds his peace.
Jack seems to be simply waiting patiently, satisfied enough with the progress the conversation is making.
Crix, seeing nothing else to gain from this conversation looks to the others.
"I'm game if you are."
Jack nods somberly, I am in.