IC: Shadows of Hong Kong, All the in charactetr stuff for the Shadows of Hong Kong Options

[Carny]

As the pair of Johnson's are preparing to leave the door suddenly swings open again and Granny shuffles into view.

Leaving so soon? I've barely started my Ginger Snaps.

She holds the door open for the pair to depart but as they pass her she says:

Just one little thing. Do you happen to know the SIN the young lady used? Or SINs?

She clutches her little carpet bag to her chest and raised a single eyebrow, archly.

The elf answers that. "You may want to ask Cricket. We do not have that information, all of our financial transactions with Ms. Silverzip were strictly by credstick or cash. However, he did recommend her, so perhaps he has more information."

[crizh]

Aye, a see. Well that 'a will, hen.

The little old woman stood in the doorway as the couple left and rummaged around in her little carpet bag like a crazed jackdaw.

@Cricket> Are ye still out there, you daft old goat? Git back in here an' we'll get on wi' this then...

Eventually, with a small grunt of triumph, she pulls what appears to be a craps dice from the bottom of her bag of tricks and gingerly bends over to wedge into the bottom of the door frame.

That'll stop the dang jammer comin' on. Normal service will now be resumed. Sorry lads, I could have done that some hi-tech way but it would 'a taken ten times longer.

Seems we have this joint for a couple of hours, so if ye dinnae mind I'll get Cricket back in here and we can git crackin'.

[Carny]

Aye, a see. Well that 'a will, hen.

The little old woman stood in the doorway as the couple left and rummaged around in her little carpet bag like a crazed jackdaw.

@Cricket> Are ye still out there, you daft old goat? Git back in here an' we'll get on wi' this then...

Eventually, with a small grunt of triumph, she pulls what appears to be a craps dice from the bottom of her bag of tricks and gingerly bends over to wedge into the bottom of the door frame.

That'll stop the dang jammer comin' on. Normal service will now be resumed. Sorry lads, I could have done that some hi-tech way but it would 'a taken ten times longer.

Seems we have this joint for a couple of hours, so if ye dinnae mind I'll get Cricket back in here and we can git crackin'.

Cricket does reappear a moment later, with another man. (OOC: Stray, I'll let you describe yourself.)

He smiles a bit sheepishly. "Sorry Granny. They always insist on a place like this when they meet with me, or my people. I think we make them nervous. This is Stray. I made contact with his usual guy, but the calls didn't get returned till a short while ago. Anyway, Stray, this is Granny, Vice, and Doctor Delicious. I'm hoping he'll let us call him Doc."

He looks out, and starts to close the door, or at least enough so its not gaping open, but stops when the die stops it. "Or that will work. Just don't do it when the Russian is here. He's mostly harmless, but sometimes he scares me."

[crizh]

That's awright son, nae harm done. A wee bit o' warnin' would 'a been nice though. If you use this place a lot I can always come up wi' somethin' more effective and discrete.

Stray is it? Come in, pull up a pew an' hae a bit o' shortbread. Vice here will fill you in on the details.

Granny waves the newcomer over to the table and proffers the plate with the shortbread. She seems strangely unwilling to take no for an answer.

She nods briefly towards the certified credstick on the table.

So, Cricket. Can I use my cut o' that to buy access to the Tribe's Cooker Server? I've been hearing some good things about the latest builds.

[Street Slag]

Stray obliges granny and takes a piece of shortbread, more out of politeness than actually wanting it. As he takes a piece of shortbread and sits where hes sure he can keep view of the door at all times he looks everyone over quicky. A little young, therefore still a little self concious, Stray is relieved to see that he is not the only one dressed in the now out of style 1930's mobster suit. As he looks over the group one last time he cracks a small smile when he set his eyes on "Granny" again. Rubbing his narrow scar that breaks the eyebrow and crosses his eye, he finally ask's ,"So, whats the job?"

[Jeremiah Legacy]

"Doc", as he seems to be known as, briefly examines the new visitor before welcoming him warmly and waves him to the table where the rest of the party is seated.

Yes, you may call me Doc. I use my full name only for formal occasions, like business meetings and one night stands.

[Street Slag]

stray takes a seat at the table, once again placing himself where he can see the door at all times. Stray sits there, takes a few nibbles on his shortbread, before setting it down, not really interested in it and brushes off his hands, still waiting to hear about the job.

[Carny]

As Stray is filled in on the details of what the team just heard from the Russian and his lovely associate, Cricket glances at the credstick, and then smiles.

@Granny>I'll have Shan expect your call, about the cooker. It might not be good to mess around with the security in these rooms. We do a lot of business through here, one way or another. I know you are good, but sometimes it's just not worth it to make a point.

Of course Cricket doesn't really make his living through the matrix the same way Granny does, so possibly getting cut off from it is something he is more used to.

"Now, what else do you need?"

[Street Slag]

Once again, Stray begins to absent mindedly rub his scar in thought as he makes himself more comfortable, then replies," Well, now that you ask Cricket, anything you may know at all about Mrs. Silverstrip. Where she lives, her known haunts if you may know. Really, anything that you may know about her at all."

[DWC]

Vice begins digging through the digital notes he took during the meeting.

“She an adept or is she wired? Is she a mage? Is she really Chinese or is that a sculptjob? What time was her last call and how long after that was her last delivery. Any idea who might want to discredit Mr. Johnson’s delivery service? Oh, and who’s the doll at the bar with the pistol under her skirt?�

[Carny]

Cricket takes a seat, and considers for a moment, then says, "I've known Silverzip for about two years. She is a physical adept, very fast and quite skilled at both fighting and dealing with people. I don't know how much of those abilities come from her magical talents. So far as I know, she really is Chinese. She took other jobs for me, and other fixers, in addition to this fairly regular arrangement with the Russian. I never had any reason, during that time, to fault her performance on those jobs. She did her best, in all cases, to take care of business, and she worked well with others, even some fairly prickly sorts. She preferred payment by cash or credstick, like most people in your profession. But, for one run, she did give a SiN number, since the Johnson paid quite well, but would only pay by transfer via an escrow account. The name attached to that SiN is Leona Chen. I doubt either the number, or the name, are what she was born with, but it might be a start."

He drums his fingertips on the table for a moment, then adds, "As far as this evening's Mr. Johnson is concerned, he doesn't run a delivery service as such. While he has competitors in what he does, I don't think any of them would interfere with him by waylaying a hired courier. He is too likely to do just what he did, hire a group of runners to honorably find and deal with those responsible for interfering with a member of his guanxi family. He takes guanxi ties at least as seriously as any Chinese I ever met."

[Street Slag]

What about known interests? I would think that if you have known her for 2 years you would know a little something about where she likes to go, or at least the types of places she liked to frequent," replies Stray, after letting everything Mr. Cricket said registers.

[Carny]

What about known interests? I would think that if you have known her for 2 years you would know a little something about where she likes to go, or at least the types of places she liked to frequent," replies Stray, after letting everything Mr. Cricket said registers.

Cricket shrugs. "You might think so, but remember she and I aren't co-workers in a Wuxing accounting office. She is a shadowrunner, like you. Our relationship is professional, and necessarily impersonal. The only interest of hers that I am particularly aware of is motorcyle racing. I'm afraid I have nothing more to tell you."

[DWC]

Vice raises an eyebrow.

"Should have guessed that last bit from the picture. No one sane wears racing leathers because they like the fit. Know what she rode? The Russian mentioned she'd probably be on the MTR rather than deal with the rain, but it can't hurt to know what we might be looking for in traffic if she's in trouble. "

[Jeremiah Legacy]

Doc watches the interaction. Better to let others talk first. Lets me know where their priorities lie.

There is one thing that he does want to know, however. If you don't mind me asking, what do you think happened to her?

[ Spoiler ]

While he answers, I am watching his reaction. I want to know what, if anything, Cricket is up to. Making a intuition + negotiation, with Sense Motive bonus, seeking to, well, sense his motives. If you trust me to roll this one on my own, I came up with 6 successes. However, since I'm not sure how you handle rolls involving perceiving things, either way I will accept.

[DWC]

The image of the missing courier hovers in the periphery of Vice's vision, projected into his image link, as he studies the face, and pores through his memories.

“Wait a second. I’ve seen her before. Rides like an animal. Was she the one that threw a soykaf at my car? No, wait. That one was riding a See-Thru™ Rapier, and was an ork. I think she said she was Taiwanese. Whatever she was, she crammed so much eX and coke into her that weekend that I still can’t believe her heart didn’t explode. That was one hell of a bender. Now I remember. Silverzip was the one on the turbocharged silver and chrome Mirage. I really did pick a shitty time to sell my Elite. That wageslave’s Skyline wasn’t bad. I wonder if I can get one with a supercharger. Top Gear’s reviewers gushed about it for hours. I should pick one up. Hope I don’t get bogged down and spend all week looking for this courier. Have to get rolling on finding the next job."

[ Spoiler ]

Once he has a connection to the cluster, Vice downloads and installs the Tacsoft, and goes looking for Facial Recognition and Empathy sensor software.

[Carny]

Doc watches the interaction. Better to let others talk first. Lets me know where their priorities lie.

There is one thing that he does want to know, however. If you don't mind me asking, what do you think happened to her?

Cricket looks at Doc, and frowns slightly. I don't have any real idea. I don't think she just decided to keep the package and go to ground. She's got more sense than that. The part of town she was in isn't the worst, but its not the best. She's quite good at taking care of herself, but this is Hong Kong.

He puts a data chip on the table. This is what I have about her location and the last call I had from her.


Doc

[ Spoiler ]

You are nearly certain he is on the level. He is concerned, but its hard to tell if he's more concerned for Silverzip's welfare, or the fact that a runner he provided may have truly screwed the pooch on a run for the Russian.

[Street Slag]

<Stray: @Candy: Its Stray. You workin tonite? i need to see you. Need some info if you got it.>

[DWC]

Vice picks up the chip, slots it, copies the contents, then ejects it. He fidgets with it absentmindedly and glances around the room.

“Who wants to hold onto this? Granny?�

After handing it off, he takes a look at the contents.

[Carny]

On the Chip:

[ Spoiler ]

The chip contains two things: The first is a simple recording of a voice conversation. Two voices. One is male, recognizably that of Cricket. The other is a nice contralto voice, presumably that of Silverzip.

Time/Date of Call: 1403/14March70
*begin connection*
Cricket: Hello.
Silverzip: Hi Cricket, just checking in.
Cricket: Things going alright? No problems?
Silverzip: Sure. Same old thing. The MTR is still full of people, some of whom really need a better relationship with soap.
Cricket: Sorry about that.
Silverzip: Don't be so serious (laugh). I have everything done but the last. You said he'd be there at Wang's at 5?
Cricket: Yes, his PAN will be active, with the name James Zango.
Silverzip: Right, I have that. I'll grab a late lunch, then head over that way. There's a noodle shop right around the corner I really like.
Cricket: Good. We'll settle up after. Will the drop box at Carmen's still work?
Silverzip: Yes, that will be fine. I'll call you after I finish the drop at Wang's. Bye.
*end connection*

The second is a call trace, done hours later, indicating that the call was made from northern Mong Kok, the nearest address listed as a teashop, though given the nature of Mong Kok, most likely the teashop is one of a dozen or more businesses crowded into the first floor of a tenement high rise.

Stray:

[ Spoiler ]

@Stray: Of course I'm working. Call me at 3.

[Street Slag]

<Stray@Candy: Its work related, how about i come up to the club when im done where im at? You know i dont like talking business over an unsecure line.>

[Jeremiah Legacy]

Vice, is it? If you don't mind, could you send me a copy of that conversation? I would like to know if our missing woman may have given a clue that I could follow up on.

The doctor takes another drink from his wine.

[DWC]

With a flick of Vice's fingertips, the optical chip slides across the table to Doc.

[Street Slag]

Strays eyes follow the chip as it slides across the table to the "Doc", and replies "lemme make a quick copy of that next. I got a contact i should be able to see tonite that may know something. Depending on what the plan is for tonite, im off to see her as soon as she gets back with me. I can go it alone, or we can go as a group. Exept for you granny. No offense, but i like to stay as inconspicous as possible, and where im goin , you would stand out like a troll at a Dwarf party."
Stray studys Doc, absentmindley rubbing his scar again, and after a slight hesitation grins at the Doc and replies , "You may enjoy where were meeting at Dr. D, you dont mind me calliin you Dr. D, do you?." Once again grinning at him knowingly he replies," you can come along if the others dont want to , you know, safety in numbers and all"

[crizh]

None taken laddie. I prefer to work in the background due to my allergies. I deal with Com's, Matrix security and transport. On that subject you missed out on the earlier freebies.

A tiny drone skitters out of her handbag and across the tabletop towards Stray. It bends it's head and appears to deposit something invisible on the surface of the wood before skittering back to the safety of the handbag.

You can't see it but Spinal has left an RFID tag with a software package for you. If you check it out in AR you'll be able to see it's ARO and open it to download the package. I already gave a copy to Doc and Vice but you should have one as well. It will create a pretty secure comms network for all four of us and will give you temporary access to the resources on my Matrix Nexus.

She then looks over in the direction of Vice.

Vice, could you possibly dump a copy of those files on the Nexus for me to have a look at?