tisoz's World, the IC thread Options

[Panzergeist]

Blender nods. "I think getting someone in as a transfer would be best. But we'll have to learn more about this company, and see how many other warehouses they own. He would have to be transferring from somewhere where the people at this warehouse would never have met him."

[TinkerGnome]

Apoc shrugs. "I could go in as a forklift operator, sure. But I'm going to need a fake ID for that kind of thing. And I'm not exactly sure what I need to be doing once I get in there..."

[TinkerGnome]

Apoc picks up the phone and dials a number. It rings a bit before Zoe picks up.

After a bit of chitchat, he asks for what he's looking for. "I need a set of papers, nothing too fancy. Gotta hold up for a few weeks, though, at least."

[tisoz]

Zoe replies it shouldn't be a problem, usually takes about 8 hours, and should probably spend 4 grand for it to have a decent chance of holding up.

"You want to be anyone in particular?"

[WinterRat1]

Dragon dials up Sybersnake. "Hey, Syber, I got an ID I need you to run. Can you look up all the injuries matching this picture and description (insert Mr. Johnson's description, sends her the picture), going about a week back? Any relevant info on this guy's background, especially the injury itself, how he got it, and any connection he has with (insert warehouse's name) should be bookmarked. Thanks."

[TinkerGnome]

Apoc gives it a second's thought. "Anyone with some mechanical experience. Forklifts, trucking, whatever. With a VCR permit attached if you can swing it. Grade ain't important."

[tisoz]

Sybersnake Calls Dragon back a few hours later. "I think I've got news you will like. I may even waive my payment."

Dragon wonders what he is going to have to do instead.

Sybersnake continues, "I think the Johnson's real name is Kevin Brown. Why you may ask? It seems Mr. Brown was treated last Friday for a broken right arm at Doctors Hospital of Tacoma. That record fairly jumped out. It seems Mr. Brown filed a workman's comp claim to pay for the injury, citing EDT, Inc. as the employer. That name should ring a bell as it is the company you wanted me to run some product codes for. By the time he finished being treated, the termination notices from EDT on Mr. Brown had entered the system, leaving him to pay out of his pocket or get a leg broke, too.

"This is where it gets a bit funnier. Early Saturday morning, someone entered Doctors and marked the bill paid. Pretty slick job, too. I doubt the hospital will notice unless their attention was drawn to this one particular account. At that, it's not like setting and casting a broken arm costs a lot, compared to some other surgeries.

"The product codes. The first one you gave me is for, you gotta love this, a Fairlight Excalibur. Yes, you heard right. I thought about having one shipped to me, but when I looked further into it, It seems they verify receipt of payment before those ship. So much for me getting a new Fairlight.

"The other product numbers are for some sweet little programs, not nearly as valuable as the Fairlight mind you, but if you snag me a <product code> or two, I'll consider your account paid in full with maybe a little credit toward future jobs.

"Sound good to you?"

[Panzergeist]

"The plot thickens!" Blender crows. A disgruntled former employee trying to screw over his old corp.

[Beast of Revolut...]

"Any thoughts on playing both sides?" Renegade asks. "it would be risky, but perhaps we could blackmail the Johnson?"

[WinterRat1]

Dragon shrugs. "I'd be willing to give it a try. Any thoughts as to the how?"

[TinkerGnome]

"Better yet, what's the why? If the fragger wants to turn on his old employers, I couldn't care less, provided we can get paid. Unless he's independantly wealthy, I'd wager whatever we're stealing is what's going to produce our pay," Apoc says, stoic as ever.

[Beast of Revolut...]

"Absolutely," Renegade agrees. What I'm thinking is, we do the run, get him the stuff, and he pays us. Then we go to his home, knock him out with gel rounds, steal back the stuff we stole for him, then anonymously tip his corp off that he was the one who did it, so that they take care of him, leaving him in no position to get back at us without us having to dodge a murder investigation.

[tisoz]

Everyone starts dreaming of what they would do with the proceeds from "The Big Score". Then they hear how readily people are to betray the guy who set the job up. Then they wonder how readily they would betray each other. Several people have already gone missing...

Who has been out of sight when the others disappeared?

Some things keep nagging at the back of your mind, just out of reach. Some of the things that seemed silly like, "Why not have a decker phony up a fake shipment" have been proven to be erroneous plans. Was the Johnson such a schlub after all? What was it Sybersnake said about him? Maybe Mr. Brown/Johnson needs investigated a bit more. Like who was he planning this run with that sent a professional to the meet as a bodyguard? The more each thinks about it, the more questions arise.

[TinkerGnome]

"Ehhh... If the Johnson is playing us straight, I've no desire to rat him out. Stuff like that might not come back at us in the legal world, but it'll be all over the shadows in seconds. No one is going to hire runners who bump off their Johnson just for fun," Apoc says. "This plum isn't sweet enough to set me up with that private island in the Carribiean League I've always wanted, so let's try to keep ourselves employable."

He grins. "If he's not playing us straight, that's another matter, of course."

[WinterRat1]

Dragon thinks for a moment. "Wait a second. How does someone get a broken arm working in an electronics warehouse? Either he trips and falls down the stairs, or he gets it doing manual labor. But if he is a manual laborer, how was he able to put this thing together? And he's going for the Fairlights? There's gotta be other stuff he can grab to cover his costs and get revenge that won't bring the heat taking those will bring. I think we're missing quite a few things here. Maybe we should investigate Mr. Johnson more before we do anything. And I'd like to avoid a massive running tab with my friend. Why don't we just find ourselves a decker? We're running short as is. What do you guys think?"

[Panzergeist]

"He worked for the company that owns the warehouse," Blender says. "He didn't necesarily work in the warehouse. I have my own theory: Since this guys apparently intends us to grab this deck and the programs for his own use, I think he must be a decker. I think he was a black-ops decker for this company. Then the company fired him, taking his gear and beating him up. Now, he wants us to get his gear back for him so he can get back at his former corp. If this guy is a shadowrunner, I don't ant to screw him over."

[WinterRat1]

Dragon shakes his head, as if clearing it. "Point. Anyway, I'm not into this screwing the Johnson thing. I don't know what came over me there. If he isn't playing it straight with us, well then I'll reassess my position. But assuming he's on the up and up, let's just do the job. So we want to bring a decker into this, maybe investigate Mr. Johnson a little more. Apoc, are you going to try to get hired into the warehouse then? Those are pretty much the main items on the agenda thus far, if I recall correctly."

[TinkerGnome]

"Yep, got a call in now," Apoc says. "Goin' to need a fake ID to get hired with, no point in waltzin' in there with illegal cyber and askin' to get a job when it's just goin' to get me in deep trouble."

[Panzergeist]

Blender suddenly jumps out of his chair. Excited, he says "What we really need to ask ourselves is why he wants us to steal the stuff without the company realizing it was stolen. One possibility is that because it used to be the Johnson's gear, the company would know it was him who stole it. A second possibility is that the johnson plans to use the stuff we steal to steal even more stuff from the same warehouse, and doesn't want security to be on alert. But there's a third possibility which really intrigues me. What if he genuinely doesn't want us to kill anyone or do any property damage? What if the Johnson is still working for his company, and merely quit their official payrolls for deniability? What if the corp hired us for a run against itself just to test us?"

[WinterRat1]

Dragon raises an eyebrow. "Then I'd be very, very curious as to who really owns this warehouse. Sounds like the kinda drek Lofwyr would pull."

[tisoz]

Wednesday April 15 0600

[TinkerGnome]

Apoc gets the call back and grunts. He hangs up and stretches a little. "Alright, time to do this thing. Anyone want to ride with?" He pulls on a set of clothing that's plain, sturdy, and not overly stained with grease.

With or without riders, he hops into his van and picks up the ID before heading over to the temp agency, making it there shortly after they open. He drops the van a half block away and makes his way inside, doing his best to look out of work.

He shows up and shuffles inside. He siddles up to the receptionist and asks, "Um... I'm here about a job."

[tisoz]

"Good, that's what we're here for," the receptionist says, shooting you a plastic smile that looks perpetually glued to her face. She hands Apoc several forms, and asks if there is any job he is there for in particular. Hearing his response, she hands Apoc a clipboard with what seems like an awful lot of paperwork.

She explains that the agency is entitled to 20% of Apoc's pay for the first 6 months of any employment they find for him. She asks if he is qualified for any other positions and if he will accept temporary positions, she adds they pay slightly more.

Upon Apoc's completion of the forms, the receptionist asks for his ID and tells him a drug test will be required for the position he applied. She actually reads the form for the first time so that she can properly forward or file it.

"Thank you for your interest in our service. Can you be reached at this number?" She writes the indicated number on a post it note and affixes it to the top sheet in the newly created file and hands back the ID. "That's it. We will contact you when we hear something."

[TinkerGnome]

Apoc doesn't generally look happy about the 20% cut, but goes to the paperwork, anyway. Remembering all of the details of a SIN he'd just gotten that morning was tough, but he muddled through somehow. Finally, he gives her a cell number and makes his way back to the garage.

"Well, application is in," he says to anyone there when he gets back.

[WinterRat1]

Dragon rolls over from a brief catnap he was taking. "Wazzat? Oh hey, glad things went without a hitch. At least, it looks that way." He yawns.

"Well, good news. It looks like we're on the search for a promising decker. I think we've turned up a few promising ones so far, but I'm not certain yet. Blender said he'll handle the hiring. So I guess we're finally starting to roll merrily along our way. Oh by the way, did we finish verifying Mr. J's info yet? I think we mostly had it complete, but it sounds to me like we've got our rough outline of a Plan A. Thoughts?"

Rolling himself off the couch, Dragon shuffles over to a kaf machine and makes a cup of steaming kaf for anyone in the warehouse who wants one, then brings them back to the "planning area" for another enjoyable skullsweat session.

Geez, I wonder if real people hate waking up this much too? Oh well, at least this time I got to sleep with a roof over my head and not being too worried about getting shot at. Hell, if this goes off right, I might not get shot at once this entire mission. Ha, that'll be the day Smiling at this cheery realization, he prepares to get to work.