What the Future Holds, CAS Runners for Hire Options

[phelious fogg]

December 29, 2063

The acrid smell of factories burns your nose as look out onto the river. The landscape is an endless mass of concrete and steel. A few miles west and you would be out of the city, but you wouldn’t know it from here. But on this side of the river, there is nothing but the city. You can feel it everywhere, the city, crowded into crook of the river, its heart beating out a furious pace. This wasn’t the south like some yank would have imagined it, all backwoods with flags hanging in the back of a pickup truck. This was the real South, every bit as gritty as the North. Behind you, a fire breaks out, and you hear the shrill of sirens and fire trucks rush to the scene.

You can see the Ares Complex rising off in the east, shadowing the two other prominent structures: the CATCo and Novatech buildings. Mobius Gentronics has its own complex; no where near on the scale of those monstrosities, across the river. While technically in Oklahoma, its still in the sprawl, and as far as the government is concerned, that’s still Arkansas. They have three clinics in the city, and today you have visited all of them. It’s the last day of your employment, and you’re rather anxious to get it over with. Fifteen thousand, that’s what they are depositing in your account tonight. That’s what they’ve given you every six weeks. Every couple of weeks they would call you in, just like today. You’d visit the various clinics and then head to their main office, where they would take you into a secure room. Your ‘boss,’ a balding man named Theodore, would tell you what he needed, what he knew, and then he would let you go. You never felt you were a sell out; Mobius was too small for you to feel like a sell out.

And the rain falls, its cold against your skin. The snow has been light this winter, but the rain has been more treacherous. The rain freezes quickly, turning to ice on the roads and sidewalks, the clinics have been working overtime due to accidents.

It’s December, Christmas has past and its only two days until New Years. This last job will ring in the New Year for you, and what happens after that? Well I suppose that’s up to you.

[Panzergeist]

The dwarf's appearance hinted at both his proffesion and his area of expertise. His brown trench coat and tan fedora went beyond suggestive and into stereotypical despite the bulge of the secure armored jacket beneath the coat, and his face looked more than a little rat-like. Joe Conway wrinkled his nose as he looked out across the metroplex. It was amazing how much urban sprawl in North America had grown just in the last couple of decades. He still remembered when the suburbs were just a short bus ride from home. This time and place wasn't much like his old home in downtown Chicago. But then, Chicago wasn't much like it's old self either.

His street name was scuzzy, and although he would usually readily admit that his first name was Joe, he hadn't been in the habit of giving away his last name lately. Not as long as he was employed by Mobius Gentronics for work of questionable legality. But soon, he'd be seeking new employment, maybe even legitimate employment. In addition to being a novice rat shaman, Scuzzy was also a pirvate investigator by trade, though he was currently a shadowrunner by circumstance. He had always wanted to be a private eye when he was growing up in Chicago. Old detective movies and novels had fascinated him, and he had worked hard enough in high school to win a partial scholarship which allowed him to get a bachelor's degree in forensic science at a local college. It had been a charity scholarship; one of the old-fashioned kinds that didn't come from a large corporation along with a contract for indentured servitude after graduation.

He had enjoyed being a private eye, but not for very long. Soon enough, the nuke had gone off and the part of the city he lived in had been sealed. After a short but grueling ordeal of paranormal combat and urban survival, he managed to sneak out of the containment zone with the help of his magic. It was then that he came to Fort Smith with hopes of restarting his practice. Unfortunately, work was scarce, and legal work for clients who could pay well was scarcer. He eventually decided to try his hand at shadowrunning. Just for a little while, until he met some more contacts so he could get more private investigation jobs sent his way. Then a while longer. He was finaly considering the possibility of sticking with shadowrunning. It was more interesting and more profitable than any of his old investigation jobs had been, and he had to admit, to himself at least, that there was a certain thrill in breaking laws. Having his SIN erased a year ago had been a step in that direction. He would certainly have to do at least a few more runs after tonight before turning back to detective work; his credstick told him that.

Walking unhurriedly towards the meet with his corporate Johnson, who went by the obvious pseudonym of Theodore, Scuzzy paused from time to time to look at a particularly interesting aura. His fixation on the astral plane caused him to bump into a man carrying a box into an apartment building, who responded with a none-too-polite gesture and a few loud swear words. Scuzzy shifted back into normal perception so that that wouldn't happen again. The newsfaxes screamed bloody murder from a nearby vendor's stand, in some cases literally. Another triple homicide, another heist, another chemical spill, and on it went. The same depressing news day after day. As he paused to peruse the headlines, he noticed a nearby woman forwning at his unkempt appearance. While scuzzy didn't have the substandard hygiene that one might espect of a rat shaman, he did seem to always have about two days of stubble on his chin, and this occasionaly got him mistaken for a relatively well-dressed homeless man. This invariably irritated him. As he continued towards his destination, Scuzzy couldn't help but notice the piles of refuse lining the streets. Physical reality was so depressing. back to astral perception. The brilliant colors and subtle hues of the astral plane never ceased to enthrall Joe Conway. As he meandered onward, he saw the familiar astral wards of the Mobius Gentronics building ahead. It was time to fulfill his contract.

[Bearclaw]

He knows he won’t like it, but he does it anyway. “Rover” stops and sniffs the air. He doesn’t like it. On top of the general exhaust, sulfur, and tar, there’s the lovely scent of a house fire. He keeps his hearing dampened, because he knows what he’ll hear if he focuses, and there’s nothing he can do to help.
He shivers a little, and gets his concentration on the matter at hand. His last day of employment for Mobius. Well, it’s been entertaining. But, he’s looking forward to spending a couple of weeks down on the Gulf before looking for work again. Maybe even fly over to Bermuda, or down to Miami. So far as sprawls go, Ft Smith is small and cozy, but it still stinks.
“Maybe” he thinks, as he adjusts his katana under his longcoat, “I’ll head on down to Texas. Maybe even down to Austin. I’d bet some one with my skills could find some good work, doing bad things for good reasons down there.”
"Rover" is an average looking guy, about 6 ft tall and 190 pounds. He's dressed in khaki pants and a blue with black striped shirt, with a silver and blue tie under a nice, but possibly armored, overcoat. The casual image is maintained by the soft soled hiking boots and the diamond stud ear ring in his left ear.
He flashes a smile to the guard at the gate as he approaches. The camera next to him gobbles it up and spits it out to the computer it’s plugged into. The image flies down the pipe to a database in the main building, where it is compared to the images in the “employees” file. When no match is found there, it is compared to the entries in the “contractors” file. A match is finally found in the “subcontractors/cleaning staff” file. The guard tips his hat and waves him through as the gate swings open. He’s not the first “cleaner” to come through the gate today. Up ahead he sees the Dwarf. “Well, at least the last run won’t be boring”.

[Digital Heroin]

Much as it might seem a guy like Rawhide'd hate bein' tied down to a contract in the first place, let alone one that required him to visit three seperate clinics the day of a briefing, he loved days like this. Why, might you ask, would a good old boy from Texas like parading around gettin' poked and proded. The answer's quite simple my friends: nurses. Hell, in just those three visits he'd scored two new numbers, and caught a quickie with a right purdy little redheaded lab technician. Sure, some might see it as bad form, especially since his younger brother's along with him for the checkups, but that's just how Rawhide is.

You can take the elf outta Texas, but you can't take the Texas outta the elf.

Stepping on out of the last of the clinics, the spurs on his real leather boots jangling as he walks, Rawhide looks over the sprawl. It's a right filthy place, definitly not like home. At least not like home was before the Azzies moved in. Country run by a Mega, was right unproper, it was. He hadn't been back to Tuscon in near three years, but he knew things'd be changed for the worse. That's why he hired on to the outfit he's with as it was. Good, regular money meant he could save up to buy him some toys with which he could be an even bigger pain in the Azzie's ass.

He looks on over to the parking lot, where the Winebego's parked. Who'd know to look at it, with it's fading panel work, dirt caked sides, it's beat up ladder and anti-Azzie, pro-Texan bumper stickers that inside was a technological marvel. Hell, you'd have to be in the military to have better gear. Then again, he didn't right think it was gonna be long before some of that milspec was his.

The lanky elf looks over his shoulder, tipping his hat back a bit and he nods to his brother.

`Y'all all comin' already. Can't keep the masters waitin' too long, they might fix to hire someone else.`

[Fallon_Blackthor...]

Fallon pulled into the garage stopping at the guard station in his canary yellow Land Rover. The guard recognized him immediately but they went through the motions of stopping and verifying his employee pass. Fallon nodded at the guard who nodded back in kind, " Good Day Mr. Wraith. Nice weather we're having... huh?" The guard asked.

" I guess..." was Fallon's only reply. He pulled into the garage through the two pillars, scanners really going over every inch of his vehicle looking for explosives and hidden weapons. He noticed the red light go off and ignored it, knowing the guards knew about his hidden stash of weaponry in the SUV.

He headed through the garage looking for a parking spot. Finally, his last contractual job fo rthe corp. It had been a long couple years. Fallon remembered the day he was invited to come down for an interview. They had furnished him with every thing he needed, a place to stay, food, and entertainment. Fort Smith was nothing like Seattle, yet it was a nice place to disappear for a couple years. He missed Seattle, the people, the food, and especially the girls. He hadn't met one girl the whole time he was here that had sparked any interest. His girlfriend in Seattle of course was still waiting for him to come home, but he knew she hadn't remained chaste during that time, neither had he for that matter. That would all change after this job. He had saved up enough to finally purchase his dream. A strip Club, gentleman's club if your PC about it. After all this time he would finally be able to sit around and relax. No more running the shadows. A life of fixin drinks and looking at naked women, what more could an elf want.

He parked the SUV and stepped out throwing on his armored jacket. He looked at his pistol and contemplated takin it in. He could if he wanted, Security wouldn't say much, but what was the point. He grabbed his baldes and sheathed them behind his back. Those went everywhere with him. He turned and headed to the elevator and rode it to the lobby.

The double sliding doors opened, the female computerized voice announcing his destination. " Lobby level Mr. Wraith... Please watch your step." she said as he stepped out rolling his blue eyes at the stupid thing. He walked to the front desk and nodded at the guard.

" I'm here for an appointment..." he said sliding his pass across the marbled counter.

[Grey]

The kid knows as The Duke was a bit of an anomaly. He was tall, which meant having to buy the larger sizes of clothing for the length, but he was also freakishly thin, which meant that everything he bought hung on him like a wet towel. Today he is wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black long coat with a black wide brimmed hat. It all looks odd on a boy whose skin is so pale you’d almost think he was an albino if it wasn’t for his shaggy brown hair.

For the most part, Duke tags along with his brother (who usually still calls him Jakey, except when on a mission) everywhere he goes, except when he is hitting on another girl. Duke always gets real shy around girls, maybe because he is a bit freakish and knows it. Today, he goes along with Rawhide for the checkups and at one point ends up hacking in a ‘trix connection while his brother ran into a closet with another nurse.

Once they get back to the ‘plex, Duke gathers his gear and hurries to catch up with Rawhide, while his whiney southern drawl can be heard mumblin’, “I’m comin’, I’m comin’…”

[Digital Heroin]

She just shakes his head, and grins. His kid brother had skills that put his own to shame, talents beyond comprehension; he also had brass, was a good laugh, and alround good company. Didn't make him any less of a pain in the butt though.

`We're one step closer to Texas Jakey, I reckon we'll be able to get even closer after today.`

As he approaches the Winebego, the alarm chirps, and offers a verbal warning. He places a palm on the scanner, and speaks the 'Get your Azz outta Texas.` line to authorize his entry. With the security system disabled, he opens up the driver's side door, and gets on in.

`But we've gotta make that meet first, can't rightly be lollgagin' about.`

He settles into the seat, and jacks just his datajack into the dash. No need for any fancy trick driving right about now. With just the datajack driving, he can still smoke. Once Jakey's in, he'll pull out of the lot, and head on to the office, for one last job.

[Grey]

Duke jumps into his home away from home and buckles in next to his brother. "Alright then, lets get it over with."

[kevyn668]

Kyle crosses the street quickly careful not to spill either of the soycaffs he's carrying. The collar of his jacket is turned up against the wind. Its cold. Kyle's seen colder. The dress pants he was wearing didn't do much against the biting wind, luckily the ballistic weave underwear he had on cut down some of the bite. The black V-neck sweater and jacket kept his upper body warm. He passes through the automatic doors and nods to the security guards on duty, "Mornin', George." he says to the older overweight guard. He hands George one of the 'caffs. "Did I miss anything good?"

"Nope. same ole drek, different day," The old guard says as he sips from the steaming cup. Then curses as the hot liquid burns his tounge. "Damn caff makers! Why dont they put warnins on these things!?"

Kyle doesn't bother to tell him they do, in fact, put warnin' labels on those things. Instead he laughs, "You'll miss me when I'm gone."

"Yeah, I'll hafta buy my own caff to burn my tounge on." George gets that thinking face for a second, "Say, thats right. You're a short timer, aint'cha? How long ya got?"

"Last day"

"Well, make it a good one, boy. Ya only get so many and ya never know what'll happen t'morrow."

Kyle nods, "Fair enough. Take of yourself, George and happy New Year if I don't see you before then."

"You too, boy. You too" George gos back to nursing his soycafe.

[phelious fogg]

In the complex, life seems just like anywhere else. People are working frantically in order to take the next few days off. It’s a weekend, but that doesn’t stop everyone from working. The lobby is fairly empty, an expansive room with a large oak desk in front of a pair of elevators. Two security guards stand at the door, one older and overweight, the other young and underfed. The older guard, George, waves everyone over to the elevator as they come in, stopping to talk to Kyle for a bit, thankful for the coffee.

On the third floor, you walk to the conference room. This is the only room on the floor that’s completely soundproof, and it is a fairly secure room. You can look out the ballistic glass at the City outside, and it actually doesn’t look as bad from here. In a way it feels as if you have stepped into a different world, with plush leather chairs and clean, rich air. In the center of the room is a mahogany conference desk, and eleven chairs, one larger than the rest. Before any of you arrive, two big men, orks actually, are already sitting to the left and right of the head chair. You recognize them as the Guido brothers, a pair of twin Sammies that Mobius uses as muscle.You filter in a short dwarf first, then Rover, and shortly after a pair of elves masquerading as cowboys. Finally, Fallon and Kyle arrive, but Theodore has yet to show. A minute or two passes and two more runners arrive, Gunther and Marie, who you have worked with in the past. Immediately following them is Theodore, a man that no one could mistake for someone else, if only due to his bulk.

Theodore is a troll, and a big one. If you ever met a more imposing figure you cannot remember it. His beard is trimmed short, his horns sweep back to sharp gold plated tips, and his suit is made from fine Italian silk. He briskly walks over to his chair and sits down, ready to talk business. His tusks don’t even seem to effect his speech.

“Of course today is the last day of all your employment, and as we have no cases at the moment, I am inclined to let you go.” He smiles. His smile is something he practiced often, a smile designed to scare as much as show his pleasure, it was a smile he enjoyed perhaps too much.

“However, I have found an errand for you to run.” He pulls a briefcase from under the table. “We need this case, and the documents contained inside to be delivered to Tulsa. As the trip might extend your contract, we are willing to give you your final deposit, 15 thousand nuyen, in advance, and an additional 15 thousand upon your arrival at our Tulsa clinic.”

“If you don’t wish to do this, you can consider your final deposit forfeit and you can leave now.”

With that Gunther gets up, disgusted, and walks to the door, slamming it behind him. Similarly Marie decides to leave, but in a more quiet and reserved manner, she runs ahead to catch up with Gunther, and then you can no longer see them.

Satisfied, Theodore continues, “Are there any other arrangements we need to discuss?”

[Grey]

"Where in Tulsa do you need it to go?"

Duke looks sideways at his brother, seeming a tad concerned.

[Panzergeist]

Scuzzy looks at the remainder of the team. "What about transportation? I don't have a vehicle, how about you guys?"

[Bearclaw]

Rover shrugs. "Nope. I've been saving my cash for a long vacation."
He addresses the Troll, "I'm in by the way".

[Grey]

Duke looks at his brother expectantly...

[Fallon_Blackthor...]

Wraith shakes his head not suprised in the least. Last day and all. " Documents huh? Must be some damn important documents if it needs this many to escort it across the flatlands." he says waves his hands nonchlantly at the remaining group.

[kevyn668]

Kyle shrugs. "Job's a job...I'm in"

[Digital Heroin]

`It's money kid,`

Rawhide claps a hand to his brother's shoulder.

`'sides, without us, who's gonna get these guys there in one piece? We've got the wheels, and you've got that hot as drek head of yours to get us whatever papers we're gonna need. Little cross country'd do the both of us a mite bit 'o good I say.`

[phelious fogg]

"Its good to see everything is settled." The troll starts.

"The documents should be there at January second, which gives you several days to get there, its only a three hour trip, but the lab will be closed until after New Years. So you will have to hold the docments for several days. The case is not to be opened under any circumstance, failure to comply will lead to serious reprecusions."

He checks the case, turning it over idly. "Also there has been a recent loss of one of our employee's. He may know about the contents of this case, so you may want to be on gaurd against theft."

Finally answering the other question on the table, "We have a laboratory in Tulsa, the you can look up the address on the way out, the receptionist should be able to give it to you."

With that Teodore begins to stand, and the twin orcs follow him out of the room.

[phelious fogg]

@Scuzzy:

Assencing Theodore, you notice two things, one there is no cyberwear in his body, the second, that he is magically active. He seems calm and in control, as if nothing in the world could touch him. The orks on either side of him seem like dark holes next to him, thier intenisive cyberwear incredibly apparent.

[Panzergeist]

Scuzzy absorbs this information, and decides not to mention it to his teammates until they are out of the building. "I travel light," he says. "Just need to stop by my home and get a few small items. So, I assume we'll all be traveling in Rawhide's vehicle; is it parked outside, or will we need to meet up in a few hours?"

[Digital Heroin]

`Y'think I'm gon trust my baby anywhere but somewhere I kin keep an eye on 'er?`

Rawhide corners some chewing tobacco in his mouth.

`She's right out in the 'ployee's parkin' lot. Can't miss 'er...`

[Bearclaw]

"I've got a small pile of gear I need to pick up. It'll all fit in one military duffle bag, if you've got room for it. Not that it looks like I'll need most of it, but Tulsa is on the way to my next destination, so I'd rather not have to come back here, if you know what I mean."
He looks at Rawhide. "You sound like you're from Texas. My names Frank, but everyone calls me Rover. I'm thinkin' of heading down there after. Relax down on the gulf for a while, then head west."

[Panzergeist]

"I live underground, in a room off an abandoned subway tunnel beneath by Grand Street station. I'll take a half hour or so to walk there and back, so you can drop me off, go to other people's houses, and pick me up later."

[Fallon_Blackthor...]

" I can take my Land Rover, might be good to have a chase vehicle just in case. Couple of ya can ride with me." Wraith says contemplating the whole idea.

[Panzergeist]

The group meandered out to the lobby as they spoke, with Scuzzy carrying the case Theodore had given them. "So," he said, "Say 4 guys in Rawhide's vehicle and 2 in the Land Rover?"