Sink, Hollywood, Sink, an experiment in running SR4 Options

[Sir_Psycho]

Blackie stands, "sounds like a plan. I'll cruise the trix until sun sets and then I might have a roof run and compile an impression of the facility. I'll keep you in the know as appropriate."

Blackie flicks another cigarette out of a soft pack and tears it out with his lip. "Be in touch." And he takes a few steps out into the street.

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda

"The building is covered by Astral watchers, so give me a heads up and we'll do the survelliance together. Drop me a line with your proposed time."

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, CRUSH! Bar Meeting

"Ok! I'll pop you a mail once I 'ave more information!"

Smiling brightly, DD stands up waves at everyone still there, and heads out.

Things are up to a promising start!

A few hours later, sitting in a street cafe, basking in the sun filtered through the shaders overhead, she's flirting with the waiter, more to keep her image up, and going through the results of her matrix search.

Franklin Yu seems trickier than expected. He seems to fancy himself being a self-professed "patron of the arts", a sort of modern gentleman. Besides the golf tournament this weekend, he attends parties aimed at wealthy men like himself. Fine, expensive spirits and wine, high-quality, non-soy foods, foreign/art films, etc.

Expensive taste... we'll need to make Kate into some luxury item... he's got lots of changing playthings too... is he looking for brains?

DD doesn't think so, in her experience, men always claim to look for brains, but actually mean "someone dumber than me, but bright enough not to embarass me in front of my friends".

But maybe the patron angle... starving young artist... that might appeal to his self-image as a "gentleman". I'll have to discuss that with Kate.

At least Harris and his wife look like easier marks. Swingers, looking to stay young and forever, in eternal frat party mode. DD blinks. A good goal, actually, in her opinion. Maybe a bit more sophistication, but... a life filled with fun can't be that bad.

Kind of like Los Angeles itself.

She studies the "private pictures" she hacked.

Good bodies too, working out, or having a flat rate at the surgeon. They should be easy, we'll just get them Kinks, booze, and the latest fad. But I'll have to coordinate with Carroway, so we don't look like some strangers when we meet them.

Her search for security information didn't turn up anything useful, but she didn't expect that. Not much better results for the labels, but she has enough for some forgery attempt at least.

DD starts up a matrix search for the latest trends, and mails what she found so far to Kate and Carroway, asking for a meeting later this evening.

[Sir_Psycho]

Blackie hops on a bus, subscribes to its sensors and then drops into VR, projecting himself across the matrix. His matrix persona is an animated beige suit, with pens and notepads bristling from the pockets, a large old fashioned film camera swinging from the neck and a light panama hat sitting atop a nonexistant head. The suit ruffles in the constant winds of data on the way to the public sattelite photography banks. Blackie hits something recent with a high resolution and copies it, hoping to use it for later diagrams of the facility, the camera floating up to under the brim of the hat and taking a few snaps.

Not much to it, Blackie thought, his persona scratching it's invisible chin with a pencil, I'll need better angles and distance. Probably by borrowing the eyes of a flyer drone.

Blackie would probably have to approach the site to sniff out connections to any nearby drones, cameras or sensors, so he decided to head home, grab an armour jacket and have a casual look at the facility exterior from the ground, but he couldn't get too close if there were astral patrollers nearby.

[Glyph]

Dancer

Dancer spends the day immersing herself in L.A.'s dance culture, sifting through the latest trends, especially what's hot in performance art. It's not all trid feeds, although that's the majority of it - she can only hit so many places in a day, after all. The cynical side of her notes that a lot of the "artistic" dancers show nearly as much skin as the more disreputable dancers do. That's good, though, considering that her goal is seduction.

She goes to a few clubs, and chats with some street performers whom she treats to lunch - not highbrow stuff, but she needs to get a wider view of the scene, too. Especially if she's going to act like someone trying to break into the scene - someone starting out in L.A. will do whatever it takes to pay the bills while waiting for that big break.

She gets DD's message a few hours into her own legwork, and ponders it thoughtfully before replying.

Interesting analysis, DD. I'm not sure I could be "luxury", but he would probably go for "exotic", too. And the struggling artist thing could work, too. I'll apply for some dance jobs, ones I'm not likely to get, to keep up appearances there. If you think it would add to the pathos, I could get a part-time job at one of the sleazier clubs, too. We'll talk about it more at the meeting.

Where are the three of us going to meet? My flat is out - paper-thin walls, no privacy. If nothing else, there is one of those motels in the area, the hourly billing kind. I'm asking because I was thinking about bringing over some outfits for you to look over.

After replying, she sets her commlink to ping her if it gets any replies, and continues her research. She sends her resume out to a few places, picking ones likeliest to either screen it out or take weeks to get back to her.

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda

as the team goes to leave, Dagda can not resist one more comment "Remember, we want no surprises here. If you sense trouble, call it. If you need more time or more support, call it earlier rather than later. I won't be pissed off if you tell me tomorrow that you need more help or more time. I will be pissed off if you tell me the day we need to go. I'm going to have some time, and can be with you where ever you are to help get it done within a minute if required. " The he gets up, lingering outside the front of the building while the team filters out, radiopathically sending a brief message to the job originator.

"Can we arrange an advance to cover some essential expenses coming into the project. 20% of the lowest fee bracket should be sufficient. Please call me to discuss, or I am open to whatever alternative forum you request. At this time I can confirm we are shooting for the most aggressive timeline. Dagda."

The he leans back against the wall, closes his eyes and focuses, a brownie emerging from the brickwork of the building. The poor creature is streaked with dirt, but somehow seems part of the city. "Watch this place and tell me if any of the awakened or a spirit is present, arrives, or leaves." The house spirit nods, then disappears in a blur.

[ Spoiler ]

Summoning a watcher - Buying hits so I just get 1 hour and autosoak the drain. Ordering it to go watch the facility and report to him on the number of astral and awakened beings present, and if any enter of leave the facility.

Having watched the last of the team leave, Dagda walks back to his BMW, contemplating his todo list.

Summon a spirit this evening, something deceptive, and go see Blackie. Otherwise I'm kicking my heels. Damn. Maybe I can start lining up another job.

Dagda then drives home, starting the process of keeping a steady stream of watchers on oversight of the compound, kicking a message out to johnno saying he's gonna have some dead time while the legwork for this job comes through, so if he has some low key astral security work like warding going he can do that. The he has a sudden fit of inspiration

@Dancer

If you guys need a place for any 'action' with the good doctors or whatever else, mine is in a nice area, though we might to do an extreme makeover to make it look more like 'yours' rather than a hard drinking russian's bachelor's pad. Still. If you need it.

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, late afternoon

DD receives Kate's message, pondering it while on the way to her hotel.

A sleazy motel... should look good in the clip, like those clandestine meetings in "Streets of Intrigue Party 2"... adds some edge.

She sends Kate a message, agreeing to that proposal, and asking for a meeting spot. Thn she thinks some more about it.

Hm... I better pack some heat for that meeting... that area sounds not as safe as the CRUSH! Bar, especially in the evening.

DD spends some time picking out her outfit, deciding on a jeans and top, with a short jacket to cover her pistol.

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, early evening

Dancer is waiting at the hotel entrance for DD, although it doesn't look like she has been waiting long. It looks like she is the one dressing down this time, wearing some rather threadbare cutoffs and a denim vest, worn open, over a black bikini top. She also has a duffel bag slung over one shoulder.

After dancer pays for a few hours of the room, a fully automated procedure, they enter. Dancer takes off the vest, showing that she is packing heat too, a gun in a shoulder rig, which she also takes off.

She turns back to DD with a bright smile. "Let me thank you again, for doing all of this for me. I've brought a few outfits for you to look at."

With that, she opens the duffel and takes out a number of garments. You recognize the suspenders thong she wore to the party, and other outfits ranging from just as skimpy, to more modest leotards and tankinis.

"I've put in for a few jobs that won't call me back, like I said. I held off on getting a job at a sleazy club until I could run that idea by you. Doing the struggling artist thing makes the demo easier, in a way. We just need something that looks artistic, but a bit desperate, too. We can try a few different versions, too, maybe including a tasteful nude, then pick one. So... do you have any suggestions?"

She gestures to the bed, where she has laid out the outfits. Belatedly, it occurs to her that with just one room, she'll have to change in front of DD if the other woman wants her to model some of the outfits. But it's not like disrobing in front of strangers is anything she isn't used to.

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

DD smiles at Kate, taking the scene in and recording. She shrugs out of her jacket as well, putting it on the bed.

Girl with gun doing some changin room scene - that's going to be good for the ratings!

"I would say no nudes, I think it would appeal more to Yu's sense of being a gentleman if you're not offering sex too openly, and makes you more of a challenge for 'im. Skimpy, in a professional way - like those outfits the girls in "Stagefright" wore, if you saw that flick. But we should shoot some nudes anyway, just in case - they'll be good for the ratings too. But let's see some of those outfits on you."

DD walks around during the changing and modelling that follows, watching Kate from several angles, thinking as much about how to capture Yu as she thinks about how to capture the scene best for the clip.

Just missing some explicit sounds from the neighboring rooms to add to the atmosphere.

"Generally, I'd go for understatement, and some innocence. If it makes Yu feel guilty for taking advantage of you, even better, 'e might be easier to fool if 'e's struggling with 'is conscience - if 'e 'as one, that is."

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, early evening

Kate's attitude seems to be that DD is doing her a huge favor, which works out well for DD. It gives her a cheerfully compliant model who obeys her directions with graceful precision. A definite refreshing change from the usual whining runway diva.

At least she seems to be cheerful. As with all modelling, it can get a bit tedious, but her control of her facial expressions keeps her from showing any signs of impatience, instead looking pensive, playful, or whatever other mood DD suggests for a pose.

At DD's suggestion of tactics, though, she gets a rueful expression on her face, as if she would rather not disagree, but has to.

"Um. One problem, though. I haven't exactly been keeping a low profile. There are all of those people at the rave I was at, before the meet with Mr. Rosen, and there is all of that footage going around of us partying with porn stars. He may not have seen it, may not ever see it, but it's a risk we probably don't want to take.

It's a bit late for "innocence", at least as far as playing Snow White goes. But if I can't be Snow White, maybe I can be Cinderella - your other idea, the struggling artist with real talent, forced to do sleazy work to make ends meet, who he can rescue.

Yeah... that could work. I need to start out dancing artistically, then show some reluctance at going further, maybe. We could do a demo where you're a bit more hands-on, acting impatient and even cruel with me, you know, "C'mon, hon, you gotta show more skin to make it in L.A.", that kind of thing, until I tearfully comply. He'll want to rescue me, and we'll still get that guilt, because it will turn him on, too, whether he wants to admit it or not."

She looks around the severely furnished room. "We could even do it here, we have the room paid for long enough. Dagda's also offered the use of his place, but it might be better to save that for you and Carroway to use."

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

DD ponders this.

"I am not too sure, capturing such stuff as a demo tape makes it look too much like a cry for help. I think it's better if we do it a bit more subtle. Do a tasteful demo tape, on the beach probably, and then leak some footage of you refusing to show more than skin, and refusing a job that would force you to. Could even 'ave Blackie do that as an article.

I'll check if there are some nodes Yu subscribes to, where news about dancers and other artists get circulated, we could plant such there under fake names.

What do you think?"

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, early evening

Dancer smiles. "You're right, putting that on a demo tape would be contrived. Maybe release it as a client who hired me to dance and browbeat me into going outside of my comfort zone? Hmm. Don't know. But I don't think trying to paint me as a noble artist would be believable, either. And I wouldn't really trust Blackie too much on something like that - he has too much snarkiness for anything outside of tilting at his own personal windmills."

She shrugs. "You seem to feel strongly that subtle is the way to go, so I'll follow your lead. Why don't we just do a nice demo of that dance on the beach, then see how he reacts from there?"

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

DD nods.

"That sounds good. Do you know a good spot on the beach? A private beach we can use would be perfect, but that may be too expensive for our budget. We'll probably have to pick a public beach, and edit the audience out. Unless those make for a good background... hm..."

DD ponders that possibility for a bit.

Like a roda, of sort.

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, early evening

Dancer's face crinkles in distaste. "I've been to public beaches once or twice. Believe me, the other people do not make for a good background. And we want to tailor something for him, not announce my talent to everyone. If I make too big of a splash, I'll get too many offers from other people."

"So we could shoot some demos here - with the bare wall making a nice stark background - or we could use Dagda's back yard, since his place sounds like the kind that would have some greenery. Or some other place, if you have some other ideas. But with our timetable, we want to get something out to hook him with as soon as we can."

She holds up a white cotton leotard, one with a midriff-baring cutout, with a backless thong in back. "And how about this one for the dance? Not as skimpy as my rave outfit, but still sexy."

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

"Dagda's backyard sounds good, if it's generic enough so we can use the 'ouse later to meet 'arris and 'is wife, if needed. We can always use some AR surrounding as well, to cover the background up. But if you get too many offers from others, well - then you can use the "'ot new rising star" angle to 'ook Yu, and do the novelty/luxury stick!"

DD nods to herself, thinking that through. Then she looks at the outfit.

"Try it on while I put in some beach background and moonlight from the "Sea of Dreams" AR enviroment series."

Downloading the AR enviroment scene takes less time than Kate changing, and when she starts to dance, DD sees and records her not in a shabby room, but on a dream beach.

[Glyph]

Dancer, dancing

Kate quickly dons her outfit and, at a nod from DD, begins to dance for the other woman. Beginning by swaying slightly to the beat, she loses herself to the music. This is a subtle seduction, so instead of dancing sensually, she dances exuberantly, wildly, as if she were dancing for herself alone. She doesn't need to feign the smile that brightens up her face - dancing truly is her truest love in life. Losing herself to the dance, she actually does seem innocent. DD knows better, but while she dances, Kate seems to radiate an uninhibited joy, like someone who has not yet become jaded by the L.A. scene.

Finally, she finishes her set, panting slightly from her energetic performance. She gets a bottle of water from her duffel and drinks some, before peeling off the now-clinging leotard and flopping onto the bed, too winded to even towel herself off yet. She lifts her head to grin at DD. "So, what did you think?"

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

DD is left speechless for a few seconds after Kate finished.

That's great stuff, the girl should be on stage, not running...

"Wow... I think we could push you as a luxury item. That was great!"

DD looks over the recording she made, spot-checking the quality, then looks at Kate again.

"If you have a sim module in your commlink I can show you the raw recording, with the AR background."

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, early evening

Kate basks in the praise, then raises herself up on her elbows to nod at DD's question. "Yeah, I have my commlink in the duffel too. Just let me towel off first..." She puts on her trodes, watching her own performance thoughtfully as she finishes dressing. It's a bit disconcerting to see herself dancing on a moonlit beach, but she was dancing to the music, and the music fit with the AR background, so there are no jarring discontinuities to the performance. Some of her better work, actually. She is pleased.

"Yes, I think the good doctor will be interested in this."

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

"Not just Yu, 'oney. We'll make a spin-off dance video from this and storm the charts!"

DD busies herself with tweaking the simsense data she got for a few minutes, mumbling some incoherent technical commentary.

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, early evening

Kate can't help but smile, a bit wistfully, at DD's optimism. If only it were that simple. Her frustrating experiences in Seattle show otherwise. But who knows? She has a good fake ID now, and this is a new town. Maybe she could make it here, although disentangling herself from her violent past could be difficult. For a moment, she allows herself a glimmer of hope.

When DD is finished with what she is doing, Kate envelopes her in a friendly hug. "Thanks again, DD. You've been a huge help. So, are we done until tomorrow? Or did you want to shoot the, um, nudes now?"

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

"Oh, yes. That'll be good footage for the main clip."

As it turns out, DD is not just recording Kate for the dance demo tape, she's also recording herself recording Kate for the run clip to be released after the run.

Maybe redo the hug with more sensuality? Or keep it "authentic" and leave it? Decisions, decisions....

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, evening

Kate groans inwardly. Great. More modelling. But she wants to prove that she'll do whatever it takes to do the job. Hell, DD and Carroway have orgy duty. Compared to that, some tasteful nudes and artistic dancing aren't much.

She still feels a bit of nervousness, though. Nudity doesn't bother her that much, but she is used to being in control of how she presents herself. Here, DD is the one in charge, and it's a bit disconcerting.

She relaxes her control over her facial expressions to allow a very slight blush as she gracefully disrobes to stand in front of DD. Her mind flashes back to when they first met, under more equal circumstances, when she playfully asked DD if she wanted her to turn around.

Now, at a slight twirl from DD's fingers, Kate raises her arms over her head, slowly turning around to display herself for the other woman's cool gaze. Her obedience earns her an approving nod, then with a touch of gentle fingertips, she is urged over to the bed to do a series of coy reclining poses.

"So," she asks during a brief lull in the session, "What do you want me to wear for the shoot tomorrow?"

[Fuchs]

DD - Day 1, early evening

"Oh, I think the white piece would be nice."

DD repeats some of the planning they already did, for the recordings "so I have more options for the final cut", then acts like a photographer/video camerawoman again. Finally, she makes a scissor-cutting motion with her fingers.

"...and cut! That should be all we need right now."

Good footage!

DD smiles, and flops down on the bed, leaning back and relaxing a bit. Playing shadowrunner playing photographer was a bit tiring.

[Glyph]

Dancer - day one, early evening

Kate smiles as DD flops onto the bed. It looks like their session took a bit out of her, too. She sits on the edge of the bed next to her as she wriggles into her cutoffs and ties her bikini top back on.

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, I'll just let Dagda know to expect us..." She quickly sends a message out to Dagda, thanking him for the offer of his place, and asking him if it would be all right for them to shoot part of her dance demo in his back yard in the morning.

Standing up, she stretches, catlike, before putting on her shoulder holster and the concealing denim vest. Thanking DD one last time and waving her goodbye, she heads out to an all-night laundromat, where she can wash some of her things for the second demo tomorrow. Then, she will hit some night spots to release all of her nervous energy and tension. She is a bit worried that her first demo raised the bar pretty high, but at least if the second demo isn't as good, they don't have to use it...

[Cthulhudreams]

Dagda - Day one, near nightfall

Dagda is getting dressed for the nights infiltration run after a day of sun baking and keeping his astral watchers minding the building. He's sitting on the edge of his bed, already clad in his ankle to neck carefully fitted light reflex plate body armour, and squirming into his the wetsuit-esque chamelon suit when Kate's message arrives. Behind him the various tools of his trade, magical and metal are scattered over his bed, carefully cleaned. He ignores the commlink's incessant beeping while he struggles to zip up back of the suit and roll over the flap of fabric that maks the zip.

Another struggle ensures with the flashhood and mage googles. He considers his wardrobe for a moment before slipping on a set of generously cut khakis, business shirt and tie, an expensive looking blazer, and a set of matching leather gloves over the fingers of the extremely illegal chameleon suit.

I feel like a god damn Siberian. Bloody suit. Bloody cops. Damn it is hot in this get up

He then waddles over to his bedside table, snatching up the commlink with a dissatisfied grunt

What the hell? Oh. Thats right.

Dagda tosses the commlink onto his bed and picks up his assault rifle, then starts to dictate a response

"Sure, just send across your ID packages so I can add you to the visitors register." He pauses as he starts to break down the assault rifle, carefully checking the parts.

"Guards won't let you in otherwise, and I can add you to the sec system here." He slams a magazine into place, checks the action, then clears the breech and puts the gun on his bed.

"Come around any time, I might not be home so you can just let yourself in."

He picks up a fistful of sensors, running their diagnostic systems through his commlink so he can listen to the audio output

"My regards background count normal - Dagda. Okay, Jarvis, send that one to Kate and DD. If you get their SIN's back, load 'em into the visitors register and let them in the house. If you don't, gently prompt them every couple of hours that you're still waiting, or until we get out this evening."

Jarvis, Dagda's agent, beeps an affirmative and throws out the messages as Dagda finishes his preparations.