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

[DrZaius]

The Chip House, 1:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

I don't like the sound of that at all...

<<@Jack[Grease]: How can I get him into the cab? Presumably he drove, or got a lift here somehow. Not sure if I can trick him into getting a cab if he brought his own ride.>>

[Jack VII]

Down the street from the Chip House, 1:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack considered Grease's response. It was a good argument, but given the limited amount of planning involved in this deal, there wasn't a whole lot of time to come up with good options. The ork vaguely wondered how the elf ever accomplished anything without sheer dumb luck and skill.

<<@Grease [JustJack] Sorry amigo, all hunches here. We know our guy's boss can't stand tweakers, so I'm guessing he isn't taking his own ride. I guess we need a Plan A and a Plan B. Plan A: He doesn't have a ride and we give him a lift. Plan B: He does have a ride and we figure out a way to follow him and make sure he doesn't get home. Once you figure out which Plan's in play, let me know.>>

[DrZaius]

The Chip House, 1:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Leaning back, Grease tries to relax.

<<@Jack [Grease]: Either way, it's going to be a few minutes while he rides the dragon. I'll follow him downstairs and either leave with him or get another hit, depending on what he does.>>

[Jack VII]

Down the street from the Chip House, 1:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

<<@Grease [JustJack] Roger, just keep me updated. If he needs a ride, best play may be to tell him you're a cabbie. I'll just get in the trunk.>>

[Lobo0705]

Chip House, 2:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075


Grease watches as one of the chipheads who came in after he did starts to wander downstairs. Looks like I'm going to have to get another one.

He stands up slowly, brushing himself off, and moves out of the room, stumbling a little to cover his surreptitious glance at the room Stinger went into. Unfortunately the door was closed, and he was unable to see anything.

<<@Jack [Grease] Looks like Stinger bought himself a private room, I can't get any eyes on him. I'm on my way to pick up another chip to keep my cover.>>

Making his way downstairs, holding on to both walls to feign struggling to keep his balance, he heads back to the dwarf he spoke to before. "One more, I need one more." he stammers out, fumbling for his credstick and handing it to the dwarf.

The dwarf takes it, slots it into his commlink, deducts 50 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) and then hands it back. "Did'ja fall asleep up there? Was coming to get you if you weren't down here in a minute. This isn't a doss, no pay, no play, alright mate?" He shoos Grease back up the stairs, Grease stammering an apology and accepting the chip. Clutching it to his chest, he heads back upstairs, making sure that the door to Stinger's room was still closed, and then moves into his room.

Sighing, he pushes the chip into his jack most of the way, and lays down, reacquainting himself with the local insects.

[DrZaius]

Chip House, 2:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grumbling incoherently in response, Grease shuffles back upstairs and heads into his old room. With the new chip "slotted" he's able to open communications with the team without appearing out of place.

I should tell Overkill about this joint; it's probably a great place to get some hacking done, and the rent is only 50 'yen an hour; probably a lot cheaper than a lot of coffin motels in town with this amount of firepower out front.

<<@Team [Grease]: Stinger spotted at [LOCATION ATTACHED]. Please proceed to area ASAP. I've got eyeballs on him, Jack is nearby in support.>>

[Chrome Head]

Overkill's House, Aurora Warrens, 2:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Now soundly asleep, Amy is suddenly startled by an annoying buzzing in her ears. She reflexively sits up and takes her 'link in her hands, making the terrible sound stop. Groggily she brings up the message and absorbs the content. The team needs me, I gotta get moving.

Yawning, she half yells in the direction of Overkill. "Hey, did you just see that?"

[Lobo0705]

Overkill's House, Aurora Warrens, 2:00 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Amy hears groaning from the other side of the partition. "Gott in Himmel, I just fell asleep." Amy hears some movement and then a bang followed by a yell. "I'm alright, I'm alright." Overkill comes limping out from behind the partition, then sits and rubs his toe.

<<@Grease [Overkill] We are on our way - be there as soon as we can. >>

He pulls on his boots, and starts putting his gear together. In a minute he was finished, and met Amy by his motorcycle. "Ready to go Liebschen?"

[Lobo0705]

Down the street from the Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Overkill's bike comes to a stop across the street from Grease's taxi. The elf turns of the vehicle and opens a channel to Grease and Jack.

<<@Team [Overkill] We're here. What's the play?>>

[ Spoiler ]

Proteus-AG Blitzfurhen "Lightning Drive" Cyberdeck (Renraku Tsurugi)
-Cyberprograms
-All Common and Hacking programs, Agent 4
-Mapsoft- Denver
Armor Jacket
Ares Crusader 2 w- Suppressor
2 clips Stick and Shock
Streetline Special
3 clips of Standard Ammo
Earbud- Audio Enhancement 1, Spatial Recognizer
Fliegegeheimagent x1 (Fly Spy)
Bug Scanner 5
Head Jammer 5
Tag Eraser
Area Jammer 3

[Jack VII]

Down the street from the Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack sighed. He had been wracking his brain for the better part of 30 minutes trying to come up with something. Everything he thought of, barring a suicidal frontal assault, generally required a lot more preparation time than they had available to them.

<<@Team [JustJack] Attacking the house is probably a bad idea. We could get away with rock-n'-rollin in the closest thing the FRZ has to a forest, but I doubt we can get away with it here in the middle of the city without attracting unwanted attention. I think the best bet is to catch him when he leaves. We got two vehicles now and, unless his driver is a rigger, I doubt Grease is going to lose him.>>

[Lobo0705]

Down the street from the Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Overkill kept his head on a swivel, checking the Matrix and the physical world for trouble. He got off his bike and leaned against a nearby streetlight, keeping his hand near his machine pistol.

<<@Team [Overkill]I agree, no need to fight a whole street gang if we don't need to. The question, my friends is if we are going to hit him in transit, where do we do so?>>

[Jack VII]

Down the street from the Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack thought about Overkill's question before responding. Calling up a map of the area in his AR feed, he sent a response.

<<@Team [JustJack] Well, we probably don't want to hit him south of Smoky Hill Road since it would be in Yak territory, not to mention close to the Zombies. If we wait too long, he'll be close to LM territory and his friends could respond. Not just the rest of his crew but the LMs too. We've probably currently got the least beef with the Trey-Eights and the rest of the Fronts. So... a little north of Smoky Hill Road would be my suggestion. It really depends on what road he takes to get out of here.>>

[DrZaius]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Shifting slightly to let the roach in his lower back get a better purchase, Grease suppresses a grimace as he responds.

<<@Team [Grease]: Ideally, it won't come to that. If I can convince him to come quietly, we can dispense with all the car chases. I think we have even odds at least I'll be able to talk him into the cab.>>

[Jack VII]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack wasn't sure how this was going to work.

<<@Team [JustJack] OK, if you can talk him into the cab, how are we going to take him down? I can pretend to be the driver, but then that puts you and him in the back and puts me in a bad position to try to take him down. If you pretend to be the cabbie, he's going to start shooting the second he sees someone else in the car... probably at you. I mean, I've still got the granada, but that seems like a last-ditch kind of thing. Anyone else have ideas? I think we're too close to try and stage an ambush outside the car here.>>

[Chrome Head]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Amy got off Overkill's bike and sat in a dark corner where her ork and elf teammates could easily see her, hiding part of her face with her head down into her jacket.

<<@Team [Amy's subvocal] I know a way to get our chummer into that cab. I just need to see him and I can cast on him, but it's safer to do it when he's actually outside, otherwise an awakened could notice my spell in the astral and it would look strange. If you get him to look in the other direction, there's no way he'll see that on the other side of the street I just influenced his thoughts with a spell. I can't guarantee it'll last very long, but probably long enough to get him inside that cab.>>

[Jack VII]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

While Jack was pleased that they had more options for getting Stinger into the cab, he still wasn't sure what they were going to do once he was actually inside the vehicle.

<<@Team [JustJack] OK, so we probably have getting him into the cab covered. Then what?>>

[DrZaius]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

I'm going to need a delousing after this..

<<@Team [Grease]: Well, if he gets into the cab without thinking about it, you could be sitting in the back with a frag-off hand cannon pointing at him. Then it's just a matter of us driving him someplace to interview him.>>

[Jack VII]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:30 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Jack shrugged. Just as good as any plan, I guess...

<<@Team [JustJack] I'm game>>

[Lobo0705]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

The door to the private room opens, and Grease sees Stinger emerge onto the breezeway.

Physically impressive for a decker, his UCAS fatigues faded from wear and age, he brushes by the Zombie on the way down the stairs.

[DrZaius]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

<<@Team [Grease]: Game on.>>

Seeing Stinger's door open, Grease starts to scratch his back more frantically until he shakes his eyes open. Muttering about bugs, he gets up and heads towards the breezeway, producing a hacking cough as he shuffles towards the stairs.

If I were following him, I wouldn't draw so much attention to myself. At least, I hope that's what he thinks.

[Jack VII]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Well, that was quick... the ork thought as he grabbed his HK from under the seat, checked the safety, and tossed it into the back. Exiting the vehicle, he slipped to the rear driver side door and entered the vehicle. Flicking the HK's safety off, Jack turned off the wireless on his SMG, trusting that the remaining devices were running silently. Given the minuscule amount of planning that had gone into this snatch and grab, the ork didn't have high hopes. Either way, he was a team player.

<<@Team [JustJack] I'm in the rear seat, driver's side. He needs to get in either the passenger front or rear, front preferred. Overkill, stay with your bike and get ready to grab Amy if this thing goes to drek. Grease, take the wheel whenever you're ready>>

Given the lack of any kind of planning, Jack didn't feel too bad about snapping off a few suggestions.

[Lobo0705]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Grease stumbles down the stairs, trying to keep up with Stinger, who seems in a hurry. Grease stumbles down the stairs, drawing some strange looks from the Zombies as he does so, but manages to catch up to stinger just in time to see him retrieve a Browning from the hulking guard at the door and slide it into a shoulder holster. He hands a credstick to the guard, and walks out the door. Grease stumbles to the door as it closes behind Stinger and the guard turns to him.

"Leaving already sunshine?"

[DrZaius]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:31 AM, August 2nd, 2075

Sending a quick DNI message to the team, Grease composed himself to try and get out the door.
<<@Team [Grease]: Target outside. No eyeball.>>

Giving the guard a look up and down appraisingly, Grease sighed. He didn't think a line would get him through that door.

Mother always said honestly was the best policy...

Decision made, his affect changes completely; he stands up from his stoop, his eyes clear and his twitching subsides until he's looking the guard levelly in the eye. "Listen, I get it; you keep me in here, I keep slotting the chips, everyone's happy. Only I forgot my part." Grease hands him the unused chip. "I need to follow that guy. You can either let me," Grease gives him the other unused chip, "Or I can try to force the issue. I assure you it's more trouble than it's worth omae." Grease continues to look the guard in the eye as he awaits his decision, trying not to sweat the wasted seconds as Stinger got further and further away.

[Lobo0705]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:32 AM, August 2nd, 2075

The Zombie's eyes turn hard at the implied threat in Grease's words, but then remembering the popgun that the elf had walked in with, he chuckles in disbelief. Snatching the two chips from Grease's hand, he says, he puts them into a commlink he pulls from his pocket, Grease sweating as a very long 30 seconds go by as he verifies that they were indeed unused.

"If you are dumb enough to pay us for our product and give it back, be my guest, but don't threaten me bitch." The human gives Grease a hard shove toward the door, and then crosses his arms as Grease nods and exits the Chip House.


As Grease steps outside, he is in time to see Stinger getting into a light blue Mercury Comet, gun the engine and quickly make the right onto South Dunkirk.

Drek

<<@Team [Grease] Stinger just made a right onto South Dunkirk heading north. We better move.>>

Turning slightly to shield his body, Grease releases his Fly Spy, sending it scurrying along the ground and then gaining altitude over the houses once it gets out of line of sight of the chip house.

[Lobo0705]

The Chip House, Aurora Warrens, 2:32 AM, August 2nd, 2075

<<@Grease [Amy] Grease, let me in the car, Jack and I will go with you.>>

Amy leaves her squatting position and quickly crosses to the taxi, Grease opening the door with a mental command as he moves quickly up S. Dunkirk. At a quick mental cue, the taxi jerks to life, and passes Stinger's Comet heading in the other direction. The car is moving quickly - well above the nominal speed limit. Overkill throws his helmet on and waits for a moment before he pulls out onto Dunkirk behind the car to follow.

<<@Team [Overkill] I'll keep them in sight while you get set. What's the plan? Where and when are we doing this? >>

The taxi screeches to a halt as Grease jumps into the driver seat, pulling the cord from his control rig and slamming it into the rigger port. His body slumps immediately as the car roars back to life, and executes a quick u-turn, with Jack and Amy prevented from being thrown around the car by their restraints.