Scene 1: The Meeting

[Thot]

ARMAND "Arm"

---

Armand couldn't be so sure about the Gasara guy, but apparently they had other things to do and other places to be, so he didn't press the point. Typical looking down upon the people by The Man... Anyway.

The bar by the marina from the bleached blonde outlander sounded like the better option and he walked closer to the man, but apparently at least two others had other ideas... their loss.

"Crime scene can't hurt, but I like the bar better...

I'm Arm, by the way." he completed, and waited to know which option would get picked. Strategy and whatnot had never been his forte, for sure...

 

[Sizniche]

Logan Malone

"Ha, who doesn't like a bar?" Logan says back to Arm.

"Ever been to a place called the Blast Furnace? Beer's cheap enough that all the chop shop guys hang around there. If our van passed through there, someone there aughta know."

Logan looks at both Wolf and Arm. "Wolf n' Arm, huh? I take it those're callsigns an' not given names. Well, I'm Logan, but if ya need something to call me over a radio or phone someone might be listenin' in on, 'Leadfoot' will do."

He walks out the door of the lobby to his car, a beat-up two-door muscle car that looks like it's older than the grandparents of anyone on the team, and about as dust-covered as you'd expect an outlander car to look. He opens the driver side door and pulls the driver seat forward to reveal the cramped backseat that three of the team would have to slip into.

"Well, I said I could fit five, but I never said it'd be a comfortable five. I guess we should all be glad we're repoing a van. Anyone wanna call shotgun yet?"

 

[Feirgon]

Wolf

"Less of a callsign, more of an alias."

Her thoughts drift for a moment as she looks at the vehicle.

I guess I have been in worse.

She gives Logan a concerned expression as she unslings her, large and very full, backpack.

"I hope you at least have room in your trunk for this."

 

[RagallachMC]

Badge

Character Sheet

Badge 
S14 D14 C13 I14 W10 CH10
HP: 6/6
System Strain: 13/13
Armor: Ranged-16 Melee-14
Saves: P-14+, E-14+, M-15+, L-15+
Skills: Exert 0, Lead 0, Notice 1, Shoot 1, Stab 0

Attacks:

Heavy Pistol - Attack Bonus +3, 1d8+1 dmg, Trauma 1d6/x3

Knife - Attack Bonus +2, 1d4+1 dmg, Shock 2/AC15, Trauma 1d6/x3
Edges:

• On Target - Gain a Combat Skill as a Bonus Skill. Your basic attack bonus is equal to your character level, instead of the usual half level, rounded down.
• Veteran's Luck - Once per scene, as an Instant action, trigger this ability to gain one of two effects: an attack roll that just hit you is instead treated as a miss, or an attack roll that you just made that missed is instead treated as a hit. This ability can be applied to vehicle weapons used by the operator, but it cannot protect against environmental damage, vehicle crashes, falls, or other harm that doesn't involve attack rolls.

Foci:

• Alert - You are keenly aware of your surroundings and virtually impossible to take unaware. You have an instinctive alacrity of response that helps you act before less wary persons can think to move. Gain Notice as a bonus skill. You cannot be surprised, nor can others use the Execution Attack action on you. When your group rolls initiative, your vigilance allows them to roll twice and take the higher roll.

Gear & Equipment:

• Heavy Pistol
• 3 Magazines and 24 Cartridges
• Armored Clothing (AC 16/14, Damage Soak 5, +1 Trauma Target)
• Knife
• Smartphone, Basic
• Trauma Patch
• Middle Class Lifestyle, 1 month

Contacts:

  Friend- Tung '2 Train' Tran

• Known them for several jobs
• Street People, Gangs and Ciminal Types
• I got a problem person off their back
• They trust me to a rare degree
• We were hired on a job together
• They can help me find profitable operator jobs

 

Badge hands the pad to the chromed goon on their way out, meeting his eyes and nodding politely.

Out on the street he looks at the car, "That's a uh...vintage car.", he says levelly. "I'll take shotgun.", he says as he puts his hand on the old car's door.

"I go by Badge, nowadays.", he says as he opens the old car's door.

 

[cybersavant]

Corvath Edmuns walks over to the car and shrugs at Badge's comment. He flips the seat forward and sits in the back behind the passenger seat.

[Thot]

ARMAND "Arm"

---

Being behind with no door meant being a corpse very fast, in Armand's experience. Someone having already claimed the front place, he was about to call out to him when he remembered he didn't have the backing of the Razors anymore. They didn't know him, they didn't know of him, he didn't know them... the ganger piped down, grumbled and joined the two others on the backseats.

"This car ? Can't make additional doors to it ?" he complained out loud, pretty sure of the answer he would get.

Hopefully, they'll be at the Marina bar soon. The sooner, the safer.

 

[Sizniche]

Logan Malone

"Sounds about right, ya seem to be the biggest outta all of us," Logan says to Badge. He then turns back to Wolf to answer her question.

He says to Wolf, "Yeah, there's room in the trunk. Just, uhh, push the MREs back there to the side before ya throw that in so ya don't squish 'em."

He then says to Arm, "Only two doors, sorry. And if I see ya with a hacksaw giving my car funny looks, I'll cut two extra doors into you. I wouldn't worry about it too much, anyway; we are repo'ing a van, after all."

Finally, he speaks to the group as a whole. "Alright, since it sounds like most of us are up for the bar, I'll be drivin' there. The fellas in the backseat can watch the footage of the theft, see if there's anythin' in it that they'd wanna check out the crime scene for."

Once everyone packs their things away the way they want and are in the car, he would finally get into his seat and start the engine. Whatever rough usage the exterior has seen certainly wasn't hurting the engine, which roars to life as Logan turns the key in the ignition.

[Bobcloclimar]

The rain continues to beat down as you all drive towards the marina, crammed like sardines into the tin can Logan nurses down the empty streets. He makes a sharp turn into the warehousing district, all towering crates of corrugated steel intermingled with squat boxes of concrete. In the midst of the carcass of industry, a single building stands out, a battered neon sign proudly proclaiming "The B---- Furnace" flickering over the doorway. Logan neatly wedges the car into a narrow space between a large black van and a mess of garishly-painted motorcycles, and you all pile out into the rain. A solitary bouncer stands beneath the dripping eaves, a glowing cigarette clenched between his teeth. The dim pulses of heavy music filter through the doorway as he eyes the motley crew over, and he exhales noisily.

 

"$10 entry," the tough's voice grates out from behind a cloud of tobacco smoke.

 

OOC

Wolf's searches on Kenji Gasara during the drive mostly come up empty - he is listed on Manticore payroll and lives in a campus dormitory, and is otherwise unremarkable. Further notes are in the Manticore Industries thread in Setting Info.

 

The video, sourced from the security cameras facing the lot from which the Rain disappeared, shows the following events:

• It was a dark and stormy night, making visual identification difficult.
• The Rain sits near the entrance, surrounded by a mix of heavy vehicles, many of which are newer and shinier.
• A group of four individuals, dressed all in black, enter the lot and spread out, casing the vehicles nearest the entrance. One of them is carrying a backpack.
• The group confers briefly then converges on the Rain. The individual with the backpack opens it, removes a tool and quickly jimmies the door. The entire group disappears inside, then a few minutes later, the vehicle comes to life and drives off.

 

Edited May 2 by Bobcloclimar (see edit history)

[Feirgon]

Wolf

Wolf hands the man $2 as she walks into the bar.

Looks like all the regulars came out tonight.

She weaves her way through the bar, doing her best to avoid hitting anyone with her backpack. Eventually, she spots an individual sitting alone at a table.

"I figured you'd be here tonight."

The young man, with dark black hair, in his 20's looks up from his drink.

"Lar-Wolf? What are you doing here?"

"Duncan! We haven't spoken in awhile, thought we could catch-up."

Wolf puts on a wry smile as she takes a seat.

"Don't give me that bullshit. You're here for a job, I can tell. So what do you need?"

"Information."

Wolf pulls up an image of the Rain on her phone and shows it to Duncan.

"Have you seen this vehicle?"

Duncan Millow

Duncan is someone that Wolf worked with once on a "job" along with a couple other individuals. After it was finished, he said it wasn't the life for him and left to work as a mechanic. He is the only one of that team that she kept in contact with, because they are roughly the same age.

Not sure if there is a cost to creating a contact on the fly, but we can treat him as less than a contact from a mechanical stand-point, if that works better.

 

[Bobcloclimar]

Duncan grins. "What have you gotten yourself into? No, wait, I don't want to know. Let me take a look." He glances at the picture and lets out a low whistle.

"Haven't seen one of those rust heaps in a long time. Can't say I've heard anything about it, but someone over that way was bragging about some old piece of crap he was hired to clean. Maybe that's your girl." The mechanic waves his hand vaguely towards the bar. "Didn't think much of it at the time, so I don't know what he looked like. Squeaky voice, and sounded like he'd had a couple under his belt already."

Edited May 5 by Bobcloclimar (see edit history)

[Thot]

ARMAND "Arm"

---

It was strange being in this neighborhood alone - without the gang - and without any point to make to someone... Armand was not feeling too at ease, but he knew too that if he didn't pull his weight, soon, someone would pull his dead carcass instead... The young man had watched the footage in the car, and made up his mind. Four people, going for that vehicle and dismissing the others ? No way. So they had to have had intel. Could be an inside man. Could be they snuck in those database stuff. But no way it was chance. And Kenji Gasara... he hadn't cleaned the man just yet. It was not in his blood to clear people without checking them himself. Call it a hunch, a habit, or whatever.

He tried to look assured and paid his own 2$ to get inside, and looked around. A team of four... Anything like that around ? It may stand out. Not as much as a party of five, obviously, but still, maybe some. Maybe enough that he could spot them with his Infrared Vision if needed.

 

[cybersavant]

Corvath Edmuns stands outside and looks for other exits. "Should we cover the exits?"

 

[RagallachMC]

Badge

Character Sheet

Badge 
S14 D14 C13 I14 W10 CH10
HP: 6/6
System Strain: 13/13
Armor: Ranged-16 Melee-14
Saves: P-14+, E-14+, M-15+, L-15+
Skills: Exert 0, Lead 0, Notice 1, Shoot 1, Stab 0

Attacks:

Heavy Pistol - Attack Bonus +3, 1d8+1 dmg, Trauma 1d6/x3

Knife - Attack Bonus +2, 1d4+1 dmg, Shock 2/AC15, Trauma 1d6/x3
Edges:

• On Target - Gain a Combat Skill as a Bonus Skill. Your basic attack bonus is equal to your character level, instead of the usual half level, rounded down.
• Veteran's Luck - Once per scene, as an Instant action, trigger this ability to gain one of two effects: an attack roll that just hit you is instead treated as a miss, or an attack roll that you just made that missed is instead treated as a hit. This ability can be applied to vehicle weapons used by the operator, but it cannot protect against environmental damage, vehicle crashes, falls, or other harm that doesn't involve attack rolls.

Foci:

• Alert - You are keenly aware of your surroundings and virtually impossible to take unaware. You have an instinctive alacrity of response that helps you act before less wary persons can think to move. Gain Notice as a bonus skill. You cannot be surprised, nor can others use the Execution Attack action on you. When your group rolls initiative, your vigilance allows them to roll twice and take the higher roll.

Gear & Equipment:

• Heavy Pistol
• 3 Magazines and 24 Cartridges
• Armored Clothing (AC 16/14, Damage Soak 5, +1 Trauma Target)
• Knife
• Smartphone, Basic
• Trauma Patch
• Middle Class Lifestyle, 1 month

Contacts:

  Friend- Tung '2 Train' Tran

• Known them for several jobs
• Street People, Gangs and Ciminal Types
• I got a problem person off their back
• They trust me to a rare degree
• We were hired on a job together
• They can help me find profitable operator jobs

 

Badge had made his way in life by watching. Head on a swivel, look for inconsistencies, watch your 6. If you kept your mind clear and your eye sharp, you could usually head off trouble before it became trouble.

Badge holds up his credstick for the doorman to scan and follows Wolf into the bar. He gives Wolf some space with his contact, but scans the room visually. It's hard to hear over the club music, but Badge sees Wolf's contact wave towards the bar. Badge starts sorting through the people at the bar visually, looking for anything out of place.

---

Notice skill check. Looking for anything that stands out by the bar area.

Edited Tuesday at 05:15 PM by RagallachMC (see edit history)

[Bobcloclimar]

The bar is populated by what appears to be the usual crowd of street toughs, wage slaves and ne'er-do-wells blended together in a mix of chemically-enhanced euphoria, drowned sorrows and furtive secrecy. Badge's trained cop eyes quickly skim over the mass of bodies, looking for the tells that might betray someone celebrating a recently-completed job, holding a clandestine meeting, or hiding in the crowd, and notes a couple candidates. As he approaches the bar to take a closer look, he overhears some cheerful shouting:

Conversation

"Hey Frankie, gimme another!"

The bartender looks up from where he's wiping the bar and shakes his head. "No good, Ed. I know you ain't got the cash, and your tab's longer than Mack's armblades. Which he's going to have to use on you if you don't pay it off soon."

The man waves his arms enthusiastically and slams some creds on the counter, which Frankie quickly stuffs into his pocket. "No, really! Them Sun boys got me cleanin' up a real doozy they found yesterday."

Frankie gives him a dubious snort. "What, they nick another beater from the Outlands? The going rate for one of those ain't gonna cover your bills, not by a longshot."

The man affects a hurt look and replies, "No, no, this one's for real. A Samkita BA Model TSame model as the Free Rain. . Piece of shit on the outside, but someone stuffed her to the gills inside. Of course they'd only want to hire the best for that, and you know me, I get it done right and I get it done quick. Right boys?" He turns around and waves to a couple of the other barflies, who give him weak smiles of bemused affirmation.

Frankie waves in defeat and sighs, "All right, all right, no need for details. One more, then you're done. Can't have you spending it all tonight."

 

Badge (and Arm) knows that the name "Suns" could refer to several gangs or aspiring "legitimate businesses" in the area involved in grand theft auto, including the Sun-Leung Choi Tong, the Red Suns Trading Corp, and the Ray of Sunshine Nursery and Gospel Choir.

 

Arm's scan of the crowd doesn't pick out anything immediately matching the hijackers' physical profile, and the mass of sweating bodies on the dance floor overwhelms his thermal vision. He does note a greasy-looking man sitting at the bar wearing stained mechanic's coveralls waving their arms enthusiastically, and sees Badge weaving his way in that direction.

 

----

 

Outside, the bouncer takes another long drag and offers Corvath a knowing grin. "You an' yer pals lookin' for someone, eh? No skin off my back, but if anyone's thinkin' 'bout makin' trouble inside, I'm goin' t'be very disappointed."

He casually rolls his shoulders, his neck audibly cracking, then glances down at the uncounted credsticks still clenched in his fist. "But ya know, sometimes askin' real polite-like can help a man 'member what he's seen."

Edited Wednesday at 09:05 PM by Bobcloclimar (see edit history)

[Feirgon]

Wolf

Wolf looks up in the direction Duncan points to and notices Badge walking toward the person in question.

If we are going to do this job right, we need to set-up some communication channels. It would be really useful to speak to him right about now.

She looks back at the young man she is sharing a table with.

"Are you pretty knowledgeable about the shops around here? As in, if I give you a name would you know where that shop is?"

As a bartender passes by, she orders herself a drink and a refill for Duncan.

She also looks down at her phone as she begins to write a quick text to send to Badge.

SMS to Badge

Let me know what you find out from that guy. I may have someone here who can help with missing details.

Here's to hoping he checks his phone.

Edited yesterday at 03:11 PM by Feirgon (see edit history)