IC: Denver Missions Team 2 Options

[J. Packer]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:40pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

"The offer may seem generous, but it is not simply getting to the UCAS and handing it off, or I would have one of my own do that."

He pulls out a standard sized manilla envelope, maybe twelve inches high, and nine wide, and not much thicker than if it had been empty. Emblazoned across one side it said CONFIDENTIAL in red letters, and the seal was ostentatiously labeled as "tamper-proof" complete with diagonal red stripes.

"This envelope contains a hardcopy letter from the Koshari leadership council. It must be delivered to 4923 Billings Street, in the Montbello district, up in the UCAS."

He hands the letter to Kim on his immediate right and lets you inspect it briefly before continuing.

"What's the old phrase, from back when we actually sent letters? 'Do not bend, spindle, fold or mutilate,' I believe was how it went." For the first time, you begin to hear a sort of gently mocking humor in the man's voice. "You may disguise that parcel in any way that does not compromise it - zip it up inside a jacket, put it in a satchel, whatever."

"Several organizations, both governmental and less formal private concerns might objects to the contents of this package. Their reasons are varied, but the interest level is sure to be high. The intended delivery has not remained a secret - thus our need for skilled couriers. Especially ones like yourselves, who are neutral parties, not beholden to either the Koshari or to those to whom it is to be delivered."

He watches as you each take a turn holding and examining the enveope.

"The time of day we chose for the meet was deliberate. Rush hour is starting, and the security procedures are more lax than under normal conditions. On the other hand, I have contact information for a pair of coyotes who would help you to cross the borders by unofficial channels, and who owe the Koshari a favor, if you are interested in that information. You have just over two hours to make the delivery. As this was laid on with some haste, please let me know if there are other ways in which I can be of assistance to the operation."

[klinktastic]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:41pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Riot: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Jim Smith

Realizing that time is of the essense, and that Cram would last longer than the time limit, Riot toggles his autoinjector to give him a dose of Cram. The rush of the drug through his veins made him feel alert and slightly more focused. Ah, much better. Sliding the AR display of his autoinjector away, he pulled a browser menu to figure out 3 things: Who are the Koshari, Who's turf is the Montbello District, and what was the most expedent way to get there?

While he manipulated various interfaces in the Matrix he said, "I'm called Riot. Looks like we'll be working together." He continued, looking at no one in particular, or well at least that none of you can notice since he's got a cyber eyeband system. "Anyone have wheels enough for all of us? I only brought my bike."

[Zyerne]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:40pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

"What tribe are your coyotes?" Wolf asked after he'd finished examining the envelope. He was inclined to at least speak to them even if they decided not to use their services.

[J. Packer]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

While Riot runs begins working in AR, Johnson answers Wolf's question.

"They are not of your tribe or mine, or any other that I am aware of. I think one might call them 'free contractors' honestly."

[klinktastic]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Riot: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Jim Smith

Hmm, seems like the Koshari and Chavez Family have some diplomatic situation and are using us as independent messagers, he thought to himself, tucking away his AR screens and focusing back on the group. "Uhh, sir. Would you mind if we acquanted ourselves and were able to come up with a quick game plan in the room here? Also, you can send the contact information for the coyotes to my commlink. Not sure if we'll use them, but better to have them than to not."

[J. Packer]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

"By all means, you may stay as long as you need," he says, but makes no move to depart, simply sending comm IDs for the two couriers, Striker and Peaches to each of you.

[BlackHat]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
PAN = passive | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Cody handled the envelope delicately, but seemed pleased. It was about the size of a piece of electronic paper, and although being unable to bend or fold the thing limited his options, he could still think of a half-a-dozen ways to stash the thing where a casual observer would be unlikely to spot it. He seemed to realize he had been holding into it for longer than everyone else, and continued passing it along the circle so everyone could take a look. "Tell me, Mr. Johnson, would you happen to have any spare envelopes that match this one?" He took another sip of his drink, but he expected some additional discussion, and was in no hurry to finish off what was left. "I was thinking, it might be useful for us to create a few decoys, and if anyone can match the stationary at short notice, it would be you."

[Kim]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:40pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Kim: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Angel Snow

Having decided it just doesn’t make sense for the opposition to know the package is here (since she could walk right in), she’s able to focus on the meeting again. Kim wonders if the man took her silence as an acceptance and just ignored the questions, or would he be happy with just 3 taking the job for the money offered?

She takes the envelope and weighs it in her hand. Yep, I can carry this she thinks, and passes it through.

Hmm, neutral parties … that explain why they can’t know I’m not. What did the orc say again..I’m in for the favor owed by the ironsiders…doesn’t sound very neutral to me...unless our need for skilled couriers doesn’t mean he’s part of the Koshari. There was something else that didn’t make sense to Kim. I would have one of my own do that and needing a courier not beholden to the Koshari.

Oh my god, I’m so slow today… must be that drink. He just means that if the couriers are not connected to either party they’re less likely to be intercepted. I better keep quiet, before I say something stupid.

[klinktastic]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Riot: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Jim Smith

A captain of many semi-pro Combat Biker teams, he sensed a lack of visible leadership in the random collection of individual. Feeling a compulsion to take command, he spoke loudly to the group at large, "May I have your attention please." Pausing to garner attention, he continued. "We don't have that much time. We need to make some decisions. I've some experience moving good between borders, so here are our options. Since it's rush hour, we won't catch a hard look from the border guards. We can head through the traditional borders as long as no one is concealing anything illegal. The package seems fine, so we can bring that through. Alternatively, we can use these coyotes. These guys specialize in getting things between borders that can't ordinarily make it through the crossings. Second thing, my only mode of transportation at the moment is my bike. Public trans is out, since we won't make it in time. If no one has a large vehicle, I can potentially steal one. But I'd rather not draw heat on us this early, especially if we're expecting a little trouble. My vote is on the coyotes, less hassle that way. Thoughts?"

(see OOC thread for leadership roll)

[SleepIncarnate]

[Monday, April 4th, 2072 | 4:40pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Doc Opheliac | Pan = Passive | SIN = Ophelia Smokehaven

As the envelope comes around to her, she reaches into her bag and pulls out a small, handheld scanner, running it along the length of the envelope, checking for the telltale signals coming from a RFID or anything else sending off signals, wondering if the package will be broadcasting itself to any interested parties.

[BlackHat]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
PAN = passive | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

At first, Cody didn't seem to be listening when Riot started talking, but he by the time he got to the part about having some experience smuggling goods, he had Cody's full attention. He wasn't sure he agreed with the plan that Riot was putting together, but he appreciated that somebody who knew what they were doing was stepping up to take charge. If it were left up to him, he'd end up winging it - probably using everyone else as distractions - and the whole thing would probably go to Hell, fast. He didn't even know what a coyote was, come to think of it. Well, he knew the animal, but he doubted that was what the Johnson meant. Maybe it was a couple of coyote-shamans or something. Going with Riot's plan was looking better and better by the second.

When Riot asked for thoughts, Cody decided it was time to be a team player. "Well, I don't have a lot of experience as a smuggler - so maybe you guys can clarify a few things for me...." He paused for a second, then continued. "If I am reading the situation right, we've basically got nothing to hide, and we're not even being asked to smuggle anything, since the package we're being asked to deliver isn't even contraband. However, border-patrol may insist on peeking inside, and we can't allow that, so we're probably going to treat it as contraband - but assuming we can keep it out of sight, we shouldn't have any trouble, since security will be light and it shouldn't show up on any scanners."

He paused for a second before continuing, "Like you said, the reason we would want to use unofficial channels is so that we could bring along our own illegal gear, which might be a good idea, since we know other people are going to be trying to get their hands on this package, and they'll probably come well equipped. Is that about the gist of it?" After receiving some confirmation he shrugged, "I can live with that. Personally, I'd just play this one straight, but I travel pretty light."

"I've got a couple of other ideas, we can consider - but I don't really expect them to be everyone's cup of tea... so my feelings won't be hurt if you guys decide not to risk it, ya know? Basically, I figure if these other guys are going to be a problem for us in the next two hours, it'll be because they know more about our plans than we know about theirs. My tac would be to level the playing field a bit with a little misdirection." He smirked, and looked around to see if anyone seemed receptive to the idea, before going into details.

[Zyerne]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

Wolf looked up from where he'd been unpacking his kitbag and laying the contents out on the floor. "If people want to stop us, border checkpoints easy to watch. Coyotes may have transportation or can make call, try someone else."

[J. Packer]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:42pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

"I suspect that one of my employees could find another similar envelope and help to dummy it up as a duplicate of the original, though the documents inside might present a problem."

He looks to Wolf and says "If transportation is an issue, there's a van around back that could be made available to you for the duration of the operation. It's a nondescript passenger van, that would easily accommodate the five of you."

Dr. Ophelia runs her scanner over the device and finds no trace of any sort of tracking or RFID tagging. It does appear to be nothing more than a few pieces of paper inside an envelope after all.

[klinktastic]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:43pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Riot: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Jim Smith

To the Johnson, Riot says, "I'll take the keys to the van if you're offering it up!" Switching his attention to the tall human, "What kind of misdirection? If you suggest we split up, I think that's unwise. We'll have a better chance to make it past any obstacles if we work together. Teamwork, you know what I'm saying?" Pausing to address the crowd, "I'm contacting the coyote now, he's going to need some lead time to get ready." With that, he send a message to PCC to CAS coyote, asking where can he meet us ASAP.

[Kim]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:43pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Kim: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Angel Snow

What the hell? Who made this orc leader? Considering stealing a car to cross the border when the government will be looking for us? The human made a lot more sense. If I don’t say something now, we could end up doing exactly what the opposition expects.

“Hold that call… please?” Kim says, “I don’t know this coyote and I’m not sure how big a reward the opposition can offer him. Considering we’re getting 15k to deliver this envelope I’d be a bit reluctant to believe it’s not enough for him to sell us out. If we had no other choice than to trust him I’d go for it, but I’ve crossed borders many times and never had any trouble. I think we should head north and cross Commerce City. We could let someone cross the border with the decoy first and see what happens. My guess would be nothing, but at least we can try a plan B if it fails.”

[SleepIncarnate]

[Monday, April 4th, 2072 | 4:43pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Doc Opheliac | Pan = Passive | SIN = Ophelia Smokehaven

Passing the envelope along, she looked up and finally chipped in.

"Working with the coyotes means we'll have to pay them and hope they aren't being playing both sides. Likewise, the envelope isn't broadcasting any kind of signal, no RFID at all in it, so we should be able to keep it relatively well hidden and not have to worry about scans. The nice gentleman here is offering us the use of a van, and so long as it's not hot, I think that's our best course of transportation, doing this on our own. We all managed to get here fine on our own, and we should have no problems crossing the border. We could throw the envelope in a bag and not worry about it being checked, unless it's marked in some way we haven't thought of that might show to some sort of scanners...."

As she says this last part, she looks to the Johnson again for details.

[J. Packer]

[Monday, April 4th, 2072 | 4:43pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

"No, it's not marked or anything of the sort. Standard envelope, and a simple letter inside. It should not give off any sort of signal. And the van is owned by this business, in fact, so the licenses are entirely legal and it is not on any stolen vehicle lists. It's a simple delivery van, two seats up front and plenty of room in the back for three others." He seems entirely amused by your caution in the dealings thus far, humor never far away in his voice.

He addresses Dr. Opheliac next. "And I think you misunderstood me when I mentioned the coyotes. Their services, if you choose to use them, will be subsidized entirely by the Koshari. As I said, they owe us a favor. And you are all young and lean, and it would be unkind of me to try to reduce your already thin profit margins."

[klinktastic]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:44pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Riot: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Jim Smith

Glaring at the elven female, "You're obviously not experienced in these matters. I agree with that guy," Riot said, point to the other Ork. "We'll be sitting ducks waiting in line at this time of day. They won't even need to do a "drive-by"," he said using air quote around the word. "They'll be able to walk right up to us. The coyotes are free and safe. They won't sell us out. A snitch will lose all his business, and they get paid a tidy sum to do what they do. No way they're risking it."

"Regardless, we're burning time we don't have. Unless we can get a duplicate envelope in less than 5 minutes, we need to abandon that plan, we just don't have the time. If so we can wait, if not, let's head out and continue planning while we get to the van," he finished, with a 'you don't understand the gravity of the situation' look on his face.

[SleepIncarnate]

[Monday, April 4th, 2072 | 4:43pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Doc Opheliac | Pan = Passive | SIN = Ophelia Smokehaven

"Which raises another issue. If the van is legal and belongs to the company, does that then leave a possible trail back to you? I was under the impression that that was the specific reason you were hiring us, so that no trail leads back here."

[Zyerne]

[Monday, April 4th, 2072 | 4:45pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

Wolf shook his head in disgust then nodded in the J's direction. "Would not recommend Coyotes did not trust. If betray us, I kill." Grabbing his camo suit, he stalked out of the lodge. "I change, you finish argue."

[BlackHat]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:43pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
PAN = passive | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Cody actually was going to suggest splitting up the team as part of his plan, but after tempers seem to flair, he decides against it. "Look, if we don't have time to grab a matching envelope," he looks at the Johnson for confirmation, "then forget it - but it would definitely be to our advantage to have a decoy, if we can get one. I'm not worried about keeping the envelope out of sight - that'll be a piece of cake. I do agree that if the van is registered to this business, it would be an easy way for our opposition to figure out that we've taken the job and to pick us out of a crowd... but even if we call the coyotes, we're going to need our own wheels on the other side, and that van seems like our only option, if we're rushing it."

"As far as misdirection, that is my specialty, but if you want to play it safe and stick together, I can roll with that. It just seems like, if we assume these groups even have a way to know we're on the job, then sticking together makes the rest of their job really easy. We might be stronger when they make their move, but so will they, if we don't give them any reason to hesitate." He shrugs, and gestures towards Riot. "Don't get me wrong, you seem to know what you're doing. I just think that means we'll end up doing exactly what they would expect us to do. I would rather do something completely unexpected to throw them off, and buy us some time - since we won't need a lot." He then finishes the last of his drink, since it looked like they would be heading out soon - plus the ice had mostly melted and it was getting watered down.

[J. Packer]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:43pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

When the provenance of the van is mentioned, Johnson responds, "While the van belongs to the club, the club does not, technically, belong to the Koshari. It is a small risk, I suppose, that they are aware of our use of this facility, but there are no direct links."

[klinktastic]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:45pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
Riot: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Jim Smith

"Alright, the van's fine, we have no choice but to take it anyway. 15 minutes is too long to wait for a duplicate envelope. It's a nice to have, but not a necessity. Again, I'm Riot, here's my commcode in case we get separated. I'm a good wheelman, so I'll drive. If you would all be so kindly as to give me something to call you, your commcode, and at least a vague idea of what you're skill sets are. Once I know what kind of skills we're working with, I can formulate a game plan...so we can discuss that into oblivion as well," he said, turning to the door to leave. He quickly whirls back around. "Oh yeah, here we go." Riot snags the credit stick and heads out saying, "Thanks!".

Remembering that the Native American Ork went to the bathroom to change, Riot cracks the door open and shouts in, "We're headed up. Meet at the van in the back of the bar when you're set."

[J. Packer]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:45pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]

Johnson tosses you a credstick from the table in front of him, and you catch it midair.

[BlackHat]

[Monday April 4th, 2072 | 4:45pm | Denim Nightclub Basement]
PAN = passive | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Standing up to follow Riot, Cody nods respectfully to the raven-masked man, and casually picks up one of the credsticks. "I guess that's that, then," he muses, to no one in particular, and finishes drinking up the last of the melted ice, crunching on a few bits that remain, before reaching for the envelope with the hand that just a second ago was holding his credstick. "I'll keep an eye on this, unless anyone objects."