Nothing's Free in the Free Zone (IC), Adventure 1: Broken Star Options

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 9:58 AM, August 1st, 2075

Amy comes back to the safehouse to find it completely silent. Jack was asleep on the sofa and Overkill had found his way to a bed, but no sign of Grease. You gotta be kidding me! He left straight away and left the house unguarded? Damn Grease.

While waiting, she decided to check if the matrix has anything interesting regarding human sacrifice, not expecting much, but who knows. Ewww.. not what I want. Woah.. gross. Going from murder video archive channels to depraved sites and back, Amy eventually gives up, unsure about how one should look for that kind of thing while shielding oneself of the terrible images the matrix had to offer.

Amy had moved to cats with captions by the time Grease gets back. "Thanks for taking care of it, but why the hell did you leave the house unguarded?" There wasn't much to answer to that and Grease was in no mood. "It's done, no one is hurt, let's move on."

Amy grumbles but decides to choose her battles, this wasn't that big a deal right now. "I want to strike tonight. We can't let their rituals continue. We can discuss how we should go about it when the other two are well rested, no? I think I might as well sleep some more, too, I doubt we'll get much sleep again this evening. Wake me up first if you want to rest, all right?"

[Lobo0705]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 10:00 AM, August 1st, 2075

Grease grumbles an affirmative, and focuses again on his drone, leaving Amy to head to the bedroom and try and get a little more rest. Amy tosses and turns, laying on her right side with her left arm flung over her head to try and muffle the sound of Jack snoring. Between the hideous sounds emanating from her ork companion and the bright light of the late morning sun, it is at least an hour before she falls asleep.

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:00 PM, August 1st, 2075

It seems that Amy had just closed her eyes and fallen asleep when she was woken by the sounds of movement in the room. Opening her eyes, she saw Jack and Overkill slowly getting to their feet, Jack rubbing his eyes with both hands, while Overkill wiped his down with a lens cleaner. Pushing herself up off of the floor, she joined the other two as they went into the main area, and found Grease leaning against the drone, eyes a little droopy and he stared out the window.

"Hola, how'd things go this morning?" asked Jack.

Grease looked up, startled, and said, "Fine, fine - there's some coffee over there, probably a little cold by now, but better than nothing."

Overkill walks over and looks at it skeptically, and then takes a sip, shrugs, takes a bigger gulp, and then moves over to the drone. "If we are going to be able to use this drone tonight, I need to get back to work. Entschuldigung, Meine Freund." He shoos Grease with a wave of his hand, and then picks up his kit, and starts tinkering with the exposed circuitry of the drone. "I am still several hours away from completing this."

Grease pushes his chair back, gets up, and moves to the couch. "Ok, so what's the plan?"

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:00 PM, August 1st, 2075

"Well, I dunno much more than I did about what is going on with Truck's ritual. It could be magic, it could just be some sadistic drek, but I know I want to go see the site before tonight to get a better idea, and I don't want to go there alone. We have to meet with Chapel soon and Overkill will be done with the repairs in a few hours. When all that's done, why don't we all go take a look at the site? We can make a quick stop to let loose the flyspy that was at Nic's, near the btl house. What do you think?" Amy asked looking at no one in particular.

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:00 PM, August 1st, 2075

"While I was on watch last night, I reviewed the footage a few more times, trying to get a feel for the area." The ork grabbed the cold cup of soykaf off the counter and pulled the heat activation tab on the bottom of the cup. Feeling the container warm up in his hands, he took a swig.

Opening up the video file they had been provided earlier that morning, Jack paused it near the beginning when it provided a rough overhead shot of the area. Using the editing software on his commlink to take a screen capture of the display, he invited MARKs on the image file from the rest of the crew. Opening his AR display, he watched as each of the members of the team MARKed the file before continuing. "The good thing is that we have a pretty solid time and location for setting up an ambush. The bad thing is that, while the time seems pretty dead-on, there could be two possible locations for the next sacrifice. Here and here." The ork marked the locations of the empty sacrificial crosses on the image. "Now, they're not too far away from each other, so most locations we pick to set up our firing positions should work for both potential targets. If we get out there early enough, we can set up stakes at each firing position to help zero in on the two potential targets."

"The basic plan is pretty simple. We open with a FlashBang trap set-up in front of either cross to try to catch them all, then we bring the pain. If we're lucky, the initial blast will disorient them enough that taking them down will be easy. Depending on supplies, we can set up each firing position with a Flash-Pak to help us avoid return fire... or spells."

Glancing over at Amy, Jack responded, "Personally, I'd like to get over there right after we go meet Chapel while we still have good daylight. I know Overkill will be busy here, but we don't necessarily want to bring in too many people on reconnaissance. You and me for sure. Grease is welcome as well unless he'd rather come jumped in to a drone."

"Drek..." Jack cursed. "Overkill, you still have the burner comm Ramirez gave us? We need to contact him and get authorization to take this fragger down. If you can transfer that video file from one of our commlinks to the burner without leaving any fingerprints, we could send it to Ramirez so he understands why we need to kill Truck."

[DrZaius]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:03 PM, August 1st, 2075

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Grease responds. "Sure, I'll come along. I can give everyone a lift. Which car do we wanna take? It's going to be a while here before this Rotodrone is up and running. That said," he pauses, a grin forming. "Are you sure we need to ask first? I'm more of a "beg forgiveness" rather than "ask permission" type. It puts Ramirez in a jam if we say, "Cool if we murder this guy?""

Grease wipes his hands on a towel. The Rotodrone they were working on looks pretty ugly, but they seem to be making enough progress you think it might fly by this evening.

"If we don't tell him, he's got plausible deniability. I think he'd understand if we showed him after. We need someone to talk, though. You think that's Stinger?" Grease frowns. "If we plan on killing Truck, that means we've got to ace this whole project. And, it probably means we need to get 'em both tonight. I have to imagine Lynx is going to close ranks if we take out someone on his team and he thinks he's being targeted."

His grin turns into a frown. "Both at the same time probably means dividing the team. Which is going to be real tough, because I think we need everyone to take Truck out."

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:03 PM, August 1st, 2075

Jack carefully considered Grease's comments. The ork was absolutely not surprised with Grease's suggestion of bending the terms of the agreement. "You know, Ramirez seems like a stand-up enough hombre that he'd probably be okay if we did killed Truck rather than bringing him in, particularly with the video evidence we have. With any other Johnson, I'd be a bit worried that they'd stick to the letter of their request and we wouldn't get paid the second half of our fee. If it's a risk the group is willing to take, then so be it. If we do, I think we should video the attack so that Ramirez will know we were trying to save someone's life and taking out Truck was the only way to do it."

Smiling grimly, the ork continued, "I'm pretty sure nabbing Truck isn't going to help. He doesn't have a tongue, from what I could tell at the hotel, so he ain't talking. Stinger seems like the way to go if we want to get information. The problem being that we don't know when he's going to return to the chip house and I don't think any of us are seriously considering letting this ritual go any further just to get the chance of nabbing them at the same time. I also think you're right that we're going to need everyone on this Truck operation, especially if they turn out to be Awakened."

Scratching the stubble that had started to grow on his chin and cheeks, Jack pondered, "I've been worried for a while about Lynx's crew going to ground if we return fire, but I think Truck may have given us a present here. He's clearly involved in some fragged up drek and there are probably plenty of people other than us that would want to put a stop to it. If we take this crew out, we might be able to make the scene look like something else happened. Put their bodies around one of the crosses and burn them to cinders, make it look like their ritual may have gone bad or some magic threat may have taken them out for what they were doing. I'm hoping it would at least buy us some time, maybe enough to snag Stinger and get the dirt on the rest of the crew."

[Always Overkill]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:03 PM, August 1st, 2075

"We may not have to hit both Stinger and Truck simultaneously," Drave chimed in from behind a pile of drone parts. "Stinger only indulges in BTLs when he knows he has hours he can be away without drawing too much suspicion from Lynx. If we can manage to get Stinger shortly after he has arrived, and the timing of his arrival is within 2-4 hours from the time of the ritual, his absence will likely go unnoticed until well after we have ambushed Truck and his fellow cultists."

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:03 PM, August 1st, 2075

There was a lot going on and Amy struggled to keep track of all the loose ends. "When we visit the site today, that'll give me a pretty good clue whether awakened people are involved or not. If they're awakened, we'll want to be careful, it's possible that I'd call off the attack when I get a better idea of their abilities at the moment of the ambush."

"I agree we need to make it look like there's a good reason for attacking them. But at the same time, we might be able to take down Truck without killing him, that way we could make more money. If we bring him to justice with evidence of what he's been doing, it would look like it has nothing to do with the activities of the crew. Two birds with one stone, no?"

[DrZaius]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:03 PM, August 1st, 2075

Frowning, Grease nods with what the group is saying. "I feel like I need to address the elephant in the room."

He pauses for effect. "Is anyone else at all concerned that he might be a frakking vampire? He and his cronies were drinking the blood from that woman tied to the cross. Truck bit her in the neck!"

He scratches the back of his neck, his brow furrowing. "I don't really know that much about Vampires; just that it's some offshoot of the HMHVV? Do we need a stake? Garlic? Silver bullets?"

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:03 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy chokes up with a short laugh. "A vampire? On a full moon it should be a werewolf!"

Amy knew better than to doubt old tales, herself being a supernatural being in a way, but this was a bit crazy.

"More seriously, if they drink the blood to feed, what's the point of the ritual? I don't think crosses fare well with vampires either." She smiled again. "And people could quickly find out if Truck was never around during daytime... I can't believe I'm really responding to this."

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:04 PM, August 1st, 2075

"Crazier drek has happened, right? But from the trids I've watched, aren't they supposed to have a hard time in the sun? We know Truck was walking around during the day when he and the mage were at Schaefer's. If we're assuming he was also the gunner that took down Newton, that's another day time appearance."

Considering Amy's earlier suggestion, Jack replied, "No matter the reason, I think Lynx's crew and any Lone Star conspirators would go to ground if Truck showed up in lock-up... not to mention the challenge of moving and securing a psicópata troll. I think in this case, it would just be easier to take him down for good and let a recording prove our case. If we can manage to make it look like the reason he was killed had nothing to do with us, they may be none the wiser. Drek, this is the FRZ, people die here all the time."

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:04 PM, August 1st, 2075

"Sure Jack. And if we save the second victim, that's reason enough. I just figured that since our job was to take him alive, we should at least entertain the idea of fulfilling the terms of the contract. It might be impossible or very unsafe though, you're right."

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:04 PM, August 1st, 2075

Mentally sighing, Jack responded, "Correcto... that's why I had suggested we contact Ramirez before hand to get an OK to kill if it meant saving an innocent life. We can still take that option, I just don't see any reason not to try to kill him if Ramirez gives the green light."

Grabbing his jacket and helmet, Jack continued, "Do we want to continue talking this out in the car? I know Overkill is going to be staying here to work on the drone, but we still need to swing by and drop off the Fly-Spy at the chip-house before we meet Chapel. That meeting is in about an hour. If we swing by the Arsenal grounds afterward, we should have better intel to refine our plan, whatever that may be, when we all meet back up here."

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:04 PM, August 1st, 2075

"Of course! If the terms change, why bother? Truck's a monster."

[DrZaius]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:04 PM, August 1st, 2075

Shaking his head, Grease grabs his keys. "Well, I'm not convinced. Someone drinking blood says vampire to me."

Grease taps something out on his RCC, one of his fly-spies goes into the window. "Easy enough. I'll send this guy to the chiphead house, we'll get some video of the layout before we head over there later. I can jump in and get a closer look once we're nearby." He throws it back towards the window, where it flutters it's wings and takes off on it's mission.

"Amy; could you get a spirit to check it out as well? I don't know how taxing that is for you, but if it's not much trouble it might help." Grease turns to Overkill as he heads towards the door. "Could you try to re-jigger the AK? I know you guys wanted to borrow it so we have some extra firepower; if you're able to make it take normal ammo cartridges we can work on putting together all the stuff we're about to pick up from Chapel."

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:04 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy nods. "Sure I could do that, but I'd prefer to be within half a kilometer of the place while my spirit does that. I think it's far enough to avoid attracting attention to us."

[Always Overkill]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:05 PM, August 1st, 2075

"I will take care of it, Mein Freund," Drave said in response Grease's request about the AK. "We are going to need it to engage them at these ranges. And I think I am in agreement that we may want to leave Ramirez out of this one until afterwards. The evidence will speak well enough for itself."

[Always Overkill]

DP

[Lobo0705]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 1:05 PM, August 1st, 2075

Grease, Jack, and Amy say farewell to Overkill as they leave the house, and walk to Grease's taxi out front. Grease brings his Fly Spy down out of the air with a command, and puts it in the car next to him, even as Overkill launches his own imported version of the same drone up to maintain the security of the house. While they drive, Amy concentrates briefly and a small spirit appears in the astral, looking like a small gnome. "Thank you for coming, I shall need you shortly."

Up the street from the Chip House, South Dunkirk Street, 1:25 PM, August 1st, 2075
They head south, feeling a little uneasy as they cross E. Smokey Hill Road again for the second time in two days, and head down E. Orchard Road. Grease pulls the car onto South Dunkirk Street and parks, and Amy summons the spirit again. "Please head to the fourth house down the block, and search out anything in the building that appears in the astral: wards, spirits, watchers, and report their presence to me."

The spirit nods, and then vanishes. Meanwhile, Grease launches the drone out the window, and has it fly down the block about a thousand meters in the air. Grease pilots the drone down the street, which although once a nice neighborhood, has declined greatly since the early 21st century. Grease shares the video feed to the image links of Jack and Amy. The front door of the house looks like it has been reinforced from the original, and the windows on the ground floor have been boarded up. There is a gate leading from the side of the house into the back yard, and there are no visible guards outside. There is very little traffic on the block, although there are a handful of thugs on the corner, who stop passing motorists and lean into their cars. The thugs are a mix of teens and young adults, mostly human but with one that looks to be an ork. They are wearing black and green gang colors, with a bloody eyeball on the back.

Amy recognized the colors, "Those are member of the Zombies, they handle some of the chip trade, although I'm not sure where they get their product from."

Amy's spirit communicates with her, "There are no wards or astral beings in the house, mistress."

Amy relays this information to the team, and then to the spirit she says, "Please tell me how many people there are in the house, and if there are any awakened people."

Again the spirit disappears for a minute or so, then says, "Mistress, there are a total of ten metahumans in the house, none of which are awakened."

[Chrome Head]

Up the street from the Chip House, South Dunkirk Street, 1:25 PM, August 1st, 2075

"Thank you, friend."

Amy reports what she could find out to the rest of the team. "They don't have magical protection inside the house, and I'd have been surprised if they did. There are 10 people in there right now."

[Lobo0705]

The Rusty Bar-rel 1:58 PM, August 1st, 2075

After completing their initial surveillance of the chip house, the team took a quick drive through the Warrens to the Bar-rel. The streets were even more quiet than normal as local inhabitants stayed inside to avoid the inevitable reprisals from Lone Star, and potential further incidents from Warrens United.

Pulling up to the restaurant, they parked, got out of the car and entered, quickly spotting their contact at a table by the window. Chapel's shirt collar and tie were a little relaxed in the heat, and he lifted his sunglasses as they approached.

"Hello Grease, great to see you again. Jack, a pleasure, and Amy, good to see you as well." As everyone sits at the table, he says, "I have your stuff in the car, shall I order a round of drinks first? On me, of course."

[Chrome Head]

The Rusty Bar-rel 1:58 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy was glad to meet the man who gave her a first chance in the shadows. "We can't stay long, but I don't see why we couldn't spend a few minutes talking, now that I finally get to meet you, Chapel."

She sits down across from him and moves over. When the waitress comes by she orders a cup of soycaf.

"Thanks for that vest you got me, it might have saved my life."

[Lobo0705]

The Rusty Bar-rel 1:59 PM, August 1st, 2075

Chapel smiles and says, "I'm happy to hear that. You all look in reasonably good health, given that you had a close call." His smile suddenly vanishes, replaced by a look of concern.

He orders a latte, and after Grease and Jack place their order, and the waitress is gone, he says, "Is there a reason Overkill isn't here?"

[Chrome Head]

The Rusty Bar-rel 1:59 PM, August 1st, 2075

"He's held up fixing up some piece of metal. Nothing to worry about." Amy smiles, trying to be charming. She was surprised that Chapel knew what had happened, but at the same time comforted, since it could mean that he cared for them, or just stayed well informed. Either way he was doing his job right. "So you've heard?"

[Lobo0705]

The Rusty Bar-rel 1:59 PM, August 1st, 2075

"I hear lots of things", he said with a smile, obviously relieved that Overkill was okay. "I didn't know specifically what the situation was, only that if an armor vest may have saved your life, you were in a fight."

"Hmm, I can make a few deductions though. Glad to see you all got away safe and sound"