Unfortunately, I'm going to have to withdraw as well; Hawatari can't really be done purely from the core book. Thanks anyhow.
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== Priorities ==
Character is complete from the previous game here, though a couple of things will have to be stripped off from that game. Chummer is excellent, especially if you know what you're doing; if you don't, you should get assistance / follow the book, and merely use Chummer as the method by which you keep track of development, inasmuch as it won't let you cheat. ;) If anyone has any questions, I am available to consult.
Yes, well — that sounds like a problem with your GM. SR “buff” spells, if they’re ’permanent’, are not only visible but also vulnerable — if you spent ‘a ridiculously low karma investment’ on them. :/
I am so there. Interest entirely on the prospective player's part. ;) I'm a long-time SR aficionado, running a RL 5e game (which ICly started in 2050, so I could use all the great early missions), so if assistance is needed, I am willing to volunteer.
(Wow, then again I already have a 5e version.) Not a problem -- I'm more than kosher to lurk and watch. (Or kibbitz, if that's allowed. Also good for PMs, as I GM 5e as well.)
"Thanks," Hawatari replies to the woman, dropping her a ¥35 info-tip, then offers her hand. "Hawatari," she introduces herself. "Nice doing business with you." -------------------------------------------------- Back with the others, she continues. "The lady over there," nodding her head towards the flat-top fem, "said that Mango tends to go with a lot of off-brand low-end tech merchandise when he picks up stuff on his way through Touristville. She suggested we might spread some fiscal appreciation through the kiosk-hawkers outside," because, after all, they're in Touristville now, "and we'd probably have a good chance of finding where he is, or at least where and when he's scheduled to make a pick-up."
"I meant around here," Hawatari replies dryly. "I don't expect he picks up two dozen twenty-nuyen commlinks and a bunch of medkits from the local salvagers. Who does he buy from around here, in Touristville??"
Hawatari nods, thinking for a second, then adds, "You know who his usual supplier - or buyer - for his stuff happens to be?" ------------------------ Shaking her head slightly, she gives Murphy a thin smile. "Most of my old gear - including clothes - is gone; if I'd been a minute earlier, I would have probably been gone with it. Trustworthy allies have seen to my having been declared dead, so that the ... mahout, let us continue to say ... is no longer actively hunting me. A few other items survived, but they are ... unique. Being seen with them would, one way or another, mark me, and that is three entirely different kinds of trouble I do not need to possess at the moment. "Could I have retreated behind high walls and iron gates, relying on powerful allies and hired guns to find and stop the mahout? Certainly. But he holds one who is very close to my heart, one he not only should not have been able to seize, but also whom he should not have been able to hold. So as long as he holds this one, I must continue to move quietly, act carefully, plan thoroughly; it is not something I will have a second chance with." Inhaling, the Japanese elf fem leans back in her chair, to stare at the ceiling for a moment. "And talking will likely take place, yes. Speech, however, is not likely to be the beginning of the conversation - or the end. Thus, I strive to regain my capabilities."
Hawatari's dealt face-to-face with dozens - hundreds - of mil and ex-mil in her past, thousands of runners over the years. Her current problem is that all those memories, all those finely-honed techniques in dealing with them, are not much more than instinctual hints served up by her half-fried brain. Finally, though, she manages to find someone.
"Something like that," she agrees with the woman. "Right now the tough job seems to be finding out where the man's going to be so that I and my associates can discuss such arrangements. Do you know where he'll be within the next, say, twelve to twenty-four?" ------------------------ When she returns to the handful she's currently associating with, she settles down and puts the glass of water on the table. As Murphy talks, she starts running her forefinger slowly, very lightly, around the rim. Those who are watching will, sooner or later, notice a slight but persistent trembling in her hand's supernally graceful movement. "Hawa, you don't seem to be the type to crawl around down here. In the shadows I mean. How far did you fall? Not gonna ask from where nor is this a cheesy pickup line because you'd shoot me for that." "What makes you think I fell?" she rhetorically asks, her own eyes upon the slight shaking in her hand. "I've been working amongst the muck and deadbeats for almost thirty years. To be fair, I've also worked amongst the key players, the top movers and shakers, during that time. Russians, most recently, though much to my shame ... well, I am having some significant memory issues. But always quietly, always in the back rooms, in the alley, in the servers' hallways. Always in the shadows." She shrugs, her gaze lifting to look at Murphy without her head moving. "Sometimes you're on top of the elephant, sometimes the elephant is on top of you. Right now ... the elephant is, how shall we say, ascendant. My difficulty right now is finding the mahout. Once I do ..." Her eyes return to her hand's slight trembling, which has started to move up her wrist to her arm; she lowers it back to the table to rest. "Then it will be time to convince them to take their elephant elsewhere, eh?"
Hawatari will nod, pay for the 'beer' along with a minor (20¥) tip, then begin circulating amongst the clientele, searching for anyone who has had recent (past 2 weeks) dealings with Mango, and especially who has knowledge of his current or soon-to-be location so that she and the team can link up with the guy.
Hawatari looks ... amused, perhaps (though only faintly), at Murphy's number-getting. "Did you ask about whomever your contact told you about? Or Mango the Trader? Or was it just the number you were interested in?" She eyes the beer, then suggests to Murphy, "Let's go back and have a few words with our bartenders. Talk with your crush, and I'll speak with the boxer." With that, she gathers up her glass and heads over to the human male, to show him the holo of Mango she'd been sent, and ask for a glass of water, offering to pay the price of a beer for it, as well as for useful information on Mango - especially a way to connect with him. Water for Beer: Both have the same number of dice, so whichever one is appropriate.
: 4 hits.
: 3 hits.
"Burners we can get in Touristville," says Hawatari as, a few minutes later, her commlink pings. Mentally checking the message, then eyeing the information contained inside it, she adds, "I have a line on a possible infosource. And ride, come to think of it. Fellow by the name of Mango, does a trade-ship loop sort of thing, carries passengers - and guards. If we're wanting to take this one careful, we might hire on with him as protection - Bobbi, you could be an outrider - and use the opportunity to not only talk to him as we go, but also establish a cover of sorts. Comes through Touristville ..." She frowns, hunting through the rest of the information, and nods absently at Bobbi. "Working from somewhere else would be a good idea. Unfortunately, I'm with Al and Murphy - rideless. And the Spiders' church is a little further away than I want to walk at the moment." Plus ca info?: Did Six include a commcode and/or an image of Mango's conveyance?
"Still rideless myself," agrees Hawatari, then peels up her purely-headspace commlink setup. "As for the Jungles ... let me think about that one. I know a couple people that might know people, so ... let me make a call." So she calls Six, as most of her calls these days are liable to be. She gets his voicemail, and tells it, "Six, looking for an in or two on the Plastic Jungles - local guide would be best, but someone who has an eye on the power and water flux in there would be good too. Call me back." Shaking her head as she hangs up, she speaks again. "Al, a thought for you - growing stuff, experimental stuff, requires power and water. Gaeatronics should be power, but I don't know who's doing water out that way. We find out where the power losses are, and especially where they're not - places that tend not to suffer from brownouts and that sort of thing - and we have ourselves a lead. Hey, Bobbi." Frowning, she eyes Bobbi's motorcycle. "Think Niko might be able to pass us along, introduction-wise? Might have contacts inside the Jungle." Der Plastic Jungles: - 4 hits.
Watching Murphy bargain with the Johnson brings a slight smile to the Japanese woman's eyes; her lips, though, don't move a bit, and her hands' movements are minimal at the moment, mainly resting on her thighs as a samurai will - only inches away from her weapons. At the suggestion from the Johnson about Murphy working 'his' side of the street, a twitch curls her lips into a momentary smile; she remembers that. Upon the successful negotiation, she gives a slight shoulder-bow to the Johnson and asks, "Your commcode for delivery arrangements?" Once that's complete, and after the group has decamped, she glances aside at the other three. "Transport?"
Mentally opening her BD's messaging system, she flicks across to the other three, Looks doable. Suggest either a negotiation for twelve-five kay, be willing to go down to eleven, or the Expenses fund up-front.
Far easier to destroy than to copy; destroying after copying is just a matter of, well, deleting the damn stuff. Getting samples was always ticklish, and more often than not bigger trouble than it's worth. However ... that depends on what you're getting a sample of. "Dr. Solus is a botanist," Hawatari says, musing out loud. "Working in the Plastic Jungles. Do you have any knowledge of what the focus of his current experimentation happens to be? Gaining samples of a vine intended to claim the smog-elimination prize in Dunkelzahn's Will is one thing; experimentation with a variant of Sangre del Diablo trees for security purposes would be a significantly different thing. Different precautions to take while extracting a sample, different requirements for the lab's location, environmental qualities, and so forth. Having any such knowledge would certainly be of assistance, and such assistance would greatly accelerate our delivery timetable."
A slight smile is all that Hawatari needs to give; Murphy has, after all, asked all that really needs to be asked. Oh, it's possible that the Johnson would want the researcher eliminated or his test area destroyed, but why do that when you can purchase a potential bounty for the same amount of money?
With a very slight smile, Hawatari gives a nod and accepts the data. Even a cursory scan provides little information for her; her brain is still fuzzy on many things about which she used to possess an instinctive level of knowledge. However, she isn't here for just herself, and if push comes to shove, she has people who have people who know about these sorts of things. "And what has Dr. Solus been working on of late?" she wonders politely.
Roll:
= 5 hits. While the Japanese - indeed, 'decent' society of any sort - prefers to socialize first and do business after dinner, there can be many subtleties involved. This, in fact, is one of them, and Hawatari bows from the shoulders to the armed Caucasian Johnson who wished to meet in a Japanese restaurant. "It is for the host's convenience that we are here; your desires in this are paramount. If you desire to speak to the point, it displays your dedication to your employer's purposes; if you wish to get to know us before discussing the reasons behind your request to see us, it shows wisdom in gaining understanding of those of whom you wish a service."
Having incidentally visited the place only a few days before - and then again shortly after Al had sent his message and she her confirmation - Hawatari arrives in decent business dress - skirt, decent shoes, a nice button-down shirt - but by the way the cloth drapes it's probably not armored. She wears a narrow (and therefore masculine) obi instead of a belt, and thrust through it is her (gasp!) katana. The woman is greeted as warmly as she greeted Hawatari; the elf replies in Japanese, her words accompanied by a short bow, "Good evening, Kyoki-sama. I hope all is quiet but business is good tonight." There are, of course, several undertones there - that she hopes things will remain quiet, that she will endeavor to keep them that way, that the business she speaks about is not only the restaurant, but its other business, as well as the business for which Hawatari is there. Bobbi's new outfit is given a neutral scan; at least, Hawatari thinks, she knows enough to look uncomfortable. Murphy's finer outfit draws a slight smile, just an upwards curl of one side of her mouth; she nods slightly in approval, shrugging out of her coat, then folding it with fastidious care to bring it along with her. The katana remains right where it is as she follows Kyoki to what is clearly a private, soundproofed room. Taking off her shoes before she steps into the room with the ease and lack of care only someone habitually familiar with the gesture would have, the Japanese elf sets her shoes fastidiously upon the mat, then steps into the room. After she gives the room a long, careful eyeing-over, she steps to the left side of the table, taking the place at the corner furthest from the door, but not facing the door; the place 'around the corner' from her, facing the door, should be where Al sits, being the one with whom contact was made. Extracting her katana, scabbard and all, from the obi, she settles down into the kneeling position called seiza, her toes curled under her in a samurai's 'ready' position - again, one that she looks entirely familiar with. The katana is set down to her left, and she adjusts its placement with finicky precision before putting her coat down to her right - which she also adjusts very carefully. It's almost as though she brought a gun along, but is keeping it concealed. Those two items accomplished, she accesses the menu, requesting water and checking to see whether or not there is to be actual dining. If so, she puts in for the chilean sea bass, miso soup, and a side of salmon yaki onigiri. What's In The Coat, Hawatari?: Yes, she brought along her Predator V, loaded with the Narcoject ammo. I am reminded, though - is it okay if I add on the 2¥ each to make them subsonic?
Nine weeks. Nine weeks it's been, without hide nor hair (well, of the ectoplasmic variety) or any other sort of sign of where Lily might be. Quiet calls to Julie Sanchez, asking for a moment of The Boss's time, bore fruit of a sort - she'd said that Lily still existed, which was kind of a relief, but that she was bound. How the hell? Everything I know about ... Suki groaned, and flopped backwards onto the craptastic doss's craptastic bed. It hurt just to think about some of this crud. Staring at the ceiling for a good half hour, letting the pounding in her head subside, she finally mumbles, "Gotta be a custom job. Someone who knew her ... someone who knew us." And that was a list, but not an infinite list, right? Did I piss off Goldsnout ... well, I mean, anything I haven't apologized for? She groaned, and buried her face in the barely-there pillow. It still hurt to think. At least she didn't have to worry about identity; the kludgy little Blue Defender dredged up all it could about the explosion, and kept them filed. EVO's public relations outlet had eventually stated to KSAF that 'the body found in the townhome is that of its assigned resident', which meant that as far as most of the rest of the world believed, she was dead. Of course, she doubted that her EVO SIN was flagged 'deceased', because reversing that was a cast-iron, which meant it probably had a 'pending' tag. And a 'pending' tag meant ... that anyone who could wrangle access and who had a reason to look would suspect she was still alive and kicking somewhere. Well, at least the people who knew she was herself wouldn't sell her out. And the people who WOULD sell her out didn't know they could, or who was buying. Of course, she didn't know who was buying, which made for all sorts of problems, too. In the weeks that followed what she was labelling in her head 'the little churchmice job,' she spent a lot of time 'downstairs' in Touristville - walking the streets, stopping in at the various bars, wearing the 'good' set of clothes and taking a couple meals at the better locations. She knew she was surrounded by the syndicates, so she kept her mouth shut (or at least didn't say anything offensive), her eyes and ears open, and started pushing her magic-fried brain into developing the sort of mental lists and scorecards she'd kept as a matter of long-made-unconscious habits. Vory was that one, and that one Mafia, that one Yakuza. Getting the gang scorecard lined up even as vaguely as she was managing it was the worst - there were, after all, so damn many of them. Most of the time, at 4 AM she found herself flat on her back in the secure little bolthole, nursing a headache. But at least it was getting ... less bad, as time went on. Maybe that was a good thing. She's just getting ready to go out on that Monday night when the Blue Defender bleeps a tone through the skinlink, one only she can hear. Looking at the message, she hesitates - did she really want to work with amateurs again? - but the friendly little blue-green glow in the lower-left-hand-corner, her balance sheet, argued that beggers can't be choosers, and if she doesn't take a job soon, 'begging' is going to be only one step below where she'll be. She considers what she knows about the place, what Al has sent ... ... and wonders if perhaps a certain courtesy might be requested - one Japanese woman to another, so to speak ... She gets dressed in a skirt, shirt, and blazer, wearing the (unfortunately not as subtle as she'd like) armored jacket and katana, and carrying the armored overcoat with its chemical liner. You could always get away with that in Seattle - acid rain was, after all, a Serious Thing here. And she heads down to the Phoenix House. KS and Socializing: : 3 hits
: 5 hits!! Clearly I just had dinner there last night!! :P Heading down there in order to ask to talk to Ms. Kyoki. The plan is to request permission for herself and three others to 'coat check' some basic gear (such as heavy pistols), if not be permitted to carry 'appropriate' items (i.e. the katana) in with them. Well, herself, anyhow. Useful Rolls, if you want to do it on quick rolls and we can get to the meet itself: : 4 hits
Hawatari will offer a 'good-will donation' of up to 400¥ (100¥ per person) for the courtesy, as well as a personal pledge of good faith, that she'll act to keep her own people under control should they threaten to act to the detriment of the house. (It's a 'corporate samurai' thing ...)
*headdesks* Sorry. Anyhow. Okay, so I got the lifestyle out of the way. Available: 3042¥
Tickers:
Shadow: Current Rates
Remaining: 1454¥ Narcoject is 8R (though y'know, the dart pistol is only 4R ...) for legality, Immediate onset, 15S. And all I have to do is wing 'em. ;) Karmawise:
1 Karma in the bank.
After exchanging commlink connection information with the Cutters lieutenant, Hawatari makes sure she has Al's, then offers to exchange information with 'Bobbi' and 'Murphy'. Successful or not, she splits the nine thousand with Al, then - if Al agrees - the ten-kay bonus four ways with the other pair before nodding farewell and footing it back over to Touristville, which isn't all that far away - a matter of a few miles, and though she's tired by the end of it, it's ... good to get things done the way you feel they need to be done. In the weeks that follow, she'll keep working on Matrix searches - about the explosion at her (now former) home, about females meeting a very specific set of parameters of appearance ... Lily, where are you??
Hawatari will not take a split from the looting, in part because of how it was handled. (We can discuss that particular question ICly if you want, though - would make for good RP, IMO. ;) ) I _am_ thinking maybe we shouldn't've given the two of you a split off our bonus, but hell, you did assist us. :P My personal 'how to improve your Loyalty Rating' thing for contacts is to deal properly (in whatever manner that contact considers 'proper') with them a minimum of (New Loyalty)^2 times - so for L2, at least 4 times beyond the initial 'contact made' point. Increasing their Connection rating may be either the same process (meaning they always had access to more / better things / people, but they didn't trust you enough to offer that friend-of-a-friend contact to YOU), or else going out and achieving runs for them, often at their direction, specifically to increase their web of contacts and influence. At the higher levels (4-6), that might mean several runs. ========================================================================== Hawatari Spending: 6 karma available; 3 x ¥1500 = ¥4500 + ¥2500 = ¥7000 + ¥842 (starting cash minus dinner) = ¥7842 available. 2 Month's Rent @ ¥2400 = -¥4800, +¥7842 = ¥3042 available. Hm. Two questions. First, can we purchase single rounds of ammo? (In part for 'resupply' of the ammo we fired, but also for cases where it's expensive ammo.) Second, can we purchase new contacts with Karma? For the latter, I'm thinking one of the Yakuza or Mob individuals in charge in Touristville; I fully intend on getting both, but you gotta start with what you have. ;)
Heh. 6 x 1500 I can see, but where's the 10k from? Speed bonus? Anyhow, I think Al and I would at least split the bonus with 'Bobbi and Murphy', and divide the 'excess' between ourselves, so ¥4500 from the standard, +¥2500 from the 10k. And I ... have research to do!! Karmawise, I'm holding pat for now - gotta save up that 10 karma to nudge the STR up.
Hawatari will be looking for work immediately. ¥1500 only pays for two weeks on a ¥2400/mo lifestyle, and since she's not going to take a share of the proceeds, she needs work - now, not nine weeks from now. Sorry.
Wearing a professionally polite expression, Hawatari watches 'Niki' during his invitation and explanation, while Cavan earns a glance at his comment about weirdness being getting hired by a fixer. Isn't that what fixers are for?? she thinks to herself. Transmitting with a thought - speech, not text - to 'Murphy', 'Bobbi', and Al, she suggests, "He's clearly open for a deal. A gear-for-professional-courtesy exchange might be a wise idea, unless you are dead-set on a cash sale. Believe me, in the long run, having the Cutters - the gang, not just one of them - as a friendly contact will be far more beneficial than just a few extra thousand in the bank." Out loud, she says, "I, myself, was hired by a Mr. Edward Johnson; I would, of course, prefer to talk to him directly to confirm completion of the job. In regards to your offer, well - for me, free agency is a necessary part of the job. Just as an example, if it became necessary for the job, we couldn't go cracking Red Hot Nuke heads without significant repercussions for you and your associates if we were to be formally part of the Cutters - colors, and all." Not to mention, she adds to herself, that taking Cutters-exclusive jobs, no matter who your supervisors are, leads to a tighter noose than one the hangman would tie. "I myself would prefer ... courtesy. The capability to move unmolested through Cutter territory, to do business with you gentlemen on terms which, if not as favorable as those you grant your own members, are at least with a professional willingness to deal honestly and in good faith."
Giving 'Bobbi' a brief smile, Hawatari plays upstairs-guard for the mooks still able enough to lift-and-carry; if nothing else, she's proved she can get around any of them any time she wants. Once everything is loaded (crates into the back of the truck, gangers split, gear ... well, where-ever 'Bobbi' and 'Murphy' figure they can stash it - she suggests to Al that he make the sedan go first, to better keep an eye on the boys there. As they move into the 'secure zone' around the Station, she eyes the ruined car chassis for what they are: tank-traps. Analyzing the safe route and the directions of attack upon that route is a matter of habit; for her, mobility is life, and so she's analyzing at each point the best route through attackers and out of the chokepoint designs, with mental pins on what could be done on the 'borrowed' motorcycle, what would be better negotiated on foot - bound over that car, dive through that window, leap off that building - whether to the ground or over to that other building. And then, for a moment, she freezes up. Can I still do that?? she wonders. From the failure she'd had at Six's, she suspects the answer is, at least for now, 'no'. Mākuso, she thinks again, gunning the motor and regaining her place. When they arrive at the Station, again she eyes the 'soldiers' and their armament, idly considering how to take them down, and coming to the conclusion that at this point, well, she just doesn't know. Missing the easy leg shot on the ganger back at the church isn't doing much for her confidence, and she can feel the trembling still in her muscles - subconscious, perhaps, but if she thinks it's there, then it's there, isn't it? Pausing after the mouthpiece, she pauses to talk to each of the ganger groups inside the vehicles. "Smartest move right now is to stay put," she suggests to them, then - once the doors are again closed - starts to follow the mouthpiece. To the two guards, she asides, "You might want to shoot anyone getting out of those vehicles."
Acknowledged. Give us ... call it an hour, Hawatari estimates to the Johnson. Discom. "Were you?" she says aloud, her voice and expression mild. "Hired to shut the group down, I mean; my information says you were hired for investigation, not pest control. But whatever, a step above to make a rep, I can understand that. I disagree on what constitutes both 'hazard pay' and 'professional behavior'; I also have no intent, now or ever, on setting myself up as some gang boss. Gaining the friendship of the locals," she adds to Al, "means that you don't get hassled every time you go into their territory - and there's a lot Cutter territory in Redmond. But ..." She shrugs, and goes over to Simon (who she knows she didn't injure) and the least-apparently-wounded ganger and starts to free them. "If you want to see this," she gestures at the gear, including the armor removed from the gangers, "as your hazard pay instead of a quick and generally-reliable way to make fifty people your pals, very well - outvoted three to one. Come on, little Spiders," she says to the decker and the thug, "Time to do some more lifting. And yes," she adds to 'Bobbi', "we have the same employer; your drop location is our drop location." Hawatari will, after a change of clips to one fully-loaded, play guard for the gangers as they do the scutwork.
Hawatari smiles, a facial gesture that doesn't make it to her eyes. "I've worn clothing and jewelry that costs more than most tri-generational families make in their lifetimes. Right now, however, wearing bland clothing and fading into the background is a wise choice for me. So although I appreciate the information, I must decline your generous offer at the moment."
All right, Hawatari replies to the J. Thanks for the heads up. She pauses, watching the looting of Los Aranas Rojas's gear, then adds absently, Your investigators are getting a little loot-happy, stripping damn near everything here but the wallpaper. You didn't contract my side for a house-cleaning; I'd prefer to walk away from this crap, or else exchange the gear's location for some good will on the part of the locals if you don't want to add that as a rider. Either way, it's up to you. Out loud, she says, "Apparently your ultimate employer is my direct employer. Let's have our Spiders - and my aren't the local Spiders going to be a bit ... annoyed ... over that - do the lifting and hauling, shall we? I don't care to pack a dozen and a half crates up the ladder. Or did you move them down there by some other method, Mr. Rabbit of mine?" This last she addresses to Simon, of course. She continues to 'Murphy' and 'Bobbi' as she eyes the stacks of stuff they're prepping to haul off, "I'd rather not strip the place, either. Not a good habit to get into - usually takes too much time, and it's rather ... unprofessional. Do the job you're contracted for, leave all that crap behind - unless that's the job you're contracted for, of course. The best mission is one where the opposition doesn't even know happened; taking anything not nailed down ... makes that difficult to execute. So unless my boss and yours okays it, I'd rather leave all that behind, maybe exchange its location for some professional courtesy with the locals." Catching 'Murphy' and his beer-drinking, she adds, "And stow that sh!t until we're paid and part ways. Mindbenders of any sort - alcohol to BTL - are off-limits while you're on the job."
Watching 'Bobbi' try to figure out where she's going to stack the cordwood - err, gangers - she shakes her head slightly. "Might want to hold off on that juuust for a second," she says out loud before continuing the conversation - which, for her, is entirely mental - with her own Johnson. Thank you. Another question - did you contract to anyone else? Al and I - apparently everyone else had something else they really needed to do besides, you know, fulfill the job they accepted - have run into a couple of others. Elf female, white skin, pink hair, California accent; elf male, red hair, sounds Irish. Working for the Cutters, seem ready to haul them off to those boys. Is that where you want them taken, or should I make a point of you getting first crack at them?
The Japanese elf lifts her finger towards 'Bobbi', glancing her way then doing a double-take on the prisoners and the load of crap she brings in. "Well. Not something you see every day. Hold on, let me ask." She'd stripped out the Johnson's commcode from the cheap 'link he'd provided them with; a thought sets her Blue Defender to dialing the newest number in its memory. After the Johnson picks up and greets her, again using her thoughtlink she replies without speaking, "It's done. Except for the deposit to the gunbunny, everything else is intact." Rule #3 about running the shadows: don't even name street names over an unsecured line if you can help it. "Got a question - the offending party comes as a low-end set; do you want just the mastermind, or the entire lot? They are, apparently, indies who did this entirely on their own."
Hawatari considers the offer made by 'Bobbi', mulling over whether or not The Employer wants the help as well as the director - then decides her head-static is making it too much a bother to figure out, and so decides on a bit of spot interrogation. After all, the guy does want to live ... So as Al is binding the back of the guy's wrists to each other, she squats down where he can see, weapons still in her hands. "A few questions for you, my little rabbit," she says in her Japanese-accented English, then asks the following questions, letting the hispanic reply after each one instead of rapid-firing them at him. "Were you working for someone else when you boosted the shipment, or was this your own setup?" "Did you have a team with you, that you work with?" "Were the guys downstairs your only hands, or were others of their gang (what is their gang?) working for you as well? Do we have to worry about some of them showing up?" "Have you sold anything besides the guns and ammo, and if so what and to whom?"
Over the VPN, Hawatari sends, Rabbit is in the trap. Al, not sure where I am, but ... She flips her commlink from 'hidden' to 'private', to give Al a location to home in on. Come find me - carefully - and let's get our package under wraps. And call Mr. Johnson for a pickup. There's a reason she's still alive to practice her paranoia; she's had just such situations go south on her before. "And open the garage door," she adds to her 'rabbit', moving carefully around him, keeping at least a foot or two distant from him, until she can bump the room door's crash bar open with her hip. Back on the comms, she adds, Ms. Bobbi, Mr. Murphy? If the shooting is done down there, I believe you can turn those fine hispanic boys over to Mr. Czeka for some suitable chastisement - and payment on your part, no doubt. Please note that the employer for Mr. Al and I requires the balance of the MERF crates' contents, so if you ask the Cutters over for a pick-up of your bad boys, please don't imply that the rest of the items are available for the taking. Considering your assistance, I believe we can make sure you get the payout that some of our ... prior help ... abandoned.
Then You Should Have Covered Your Tracks Better:
Delay action just in case the idiot tries something; I want to be ready to go full-agile-defense, for 20 dice, in case I need to. But speech: The lithe elf keeps a bead on the guy, the katana in her right hand held seemingly loosely down by her hip. "Can't guarantee anything but that if you get face-down on the ground with your hands behind your head and cut the power to the vehicle, you won't die right now - but I'll put a good word in for you with my employer. Can always use a marginally competent slicer."
I Hate to Shoot and Run, But ...:
Shoot Mook #4 first ... Agility + Skill + Smartlink = 17 - [ # Shots (4) - Recoil Compensation (2) - Base (1) = 1 ] = 16. Damage is 7P + Net Hits. : 6 hits, no glitch. Then Parkour my sorry tail up the ladder and after Simon. With an Agility of 9, though, that's 18m of movement before I hit the 'run speed' necessary. : 4 hits, no glitch.
For an instant, not even long enough to call a moment, Hawatari blinks stupidly at the scar on the wall behind the ladder - a bullet flattened against the wall instead of where it SHOULD have been, in the idiot's leg putting him down on the ground. "Mākuso," she says conversationally, 'Well, sh!t' in Japanese, even as she turns her head, shifts her arm, and orders her Predator V to gently, quietly cough a round into the side of the third ganger who hasn't yet had the presence of mind to scramble for cover. As though her silenced firing of the Predator were some sort of starting gun, she takes off across the rest of the room and down the short hall, springing upwards as she clears the space. Her sword thrusts upwards to make certain she isn't about to slam her head against a closed latch, as well as to discourage Simon (or any left-behind gangerpunk) from trying to do something, and she puts her left foot on the third rung of the ladder and pushes off, twisting and keeping her momentum going as the side of the pistol hand seeks the top of the rim to guide her up and out. Already, she is hunting for her prey ...
Gettin' By: I originally thought that they were in the 4x4 room beyond, but you indicated they were blocking. If I can Gymnastics past them - or in the middle of them - then by all means that's what I've been wanting to do.
: 3 hits, no glitch.
Shoot 'Im In The Leg!!:
I presume that since he'd have to go up the ladder, I still have effective line-of-sight on Mr. Running Man. Since I don't want him to go haring off ... Simple Action: Take Aim (+1 DP)
Dice Pool: Agility + Pistols + Smartlink = 17 - 6 + 1 = 12.
Potential results of a shin-shot, in order of preference of net hits:
DV on the attack is 7P (+ up to 2 more hits), -1 AP. If he can reduce the damage to 0, he takes none of the side-effects. If he cannot, the most damage he actually takes is 2P.
Of course the prick rabbits. Rolling her eyes for an instant, Hawatari shifts slightly, dropping the point of aim of her Predator to the fleeing Hispanic's leg below the knee. A heartbeat to steady her aim, and then her gun coughs out a 9mm subsonic 7.5g shaped and spinning lump of lead, heading for the moron's shinbone. Al, she sends through the VPN with a thought, our target is rabbiting. Might make it up, might not - get him if he does, but watch your back.
Surprise Lost?: Oh. I lose a surprise action? I thought that that was taken care of by the -10 reduction in initiative. Anyhow.
So Jorge (#2) is on the ground right in front of me. Is there two to my right (Esteban and Carlos, towards 'Bobbi'), and five to my left, four of which hold SMGs, and the fifth which has a shotgun? Or is it five holding SMGs, and a sixth with a shotgun, but only one (Esteban) to my right, with Carlos the first one to my left, though he's turned around and doesn't have any of Jorge's blood on him despite having been behind Jorge? I have to confess I'm have some difficulty figuring out what's going on without any real sort of map or confirmation of who is where and/or how many there are in total; what's been stated seems to me to be contradictory. Hawatari will move out and into the room beyond, getting into close-combat range with - which is to say, into the middle of - the four (or five) SMG-holders. The Shotgun is a concern, so it's time for another trick shot: Blast Out of Hands. Accuracy: Predator V (5) + Smartlink (2) = 7.
Damage: Predator V (8) - Subsonic Ammo (1) = 7. DV doesn't really matter since it isn't damaging, but it might screw up the shotgun, so you never know. Note that the weapon is still silenced, and though it's patently obvious she's firing a bloody gun, it's gotta be kind of intimidating, y'know? ;)
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