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

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:25 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Perhaps Grease and I should go in the Taxi, I will need to be there to sweep for any bugs. Jack and Amy can stand by over a secured link and be ready to back us up is we run into any complications." Drave suggested, while running a sweep with his bug scanner through his AR.

After checking the results, he adds, "While on the subject of links, I wanted to offer to slave your commlinks to my Blitzdrive when we are together. It will allow me to safeguard us from any attempts to hack in to our hardware. I can add your control rig too Grease, as well as any Smartlinks or other wireless hardware you may want extra protection for."

[Lobo0705]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

The group spends the next 15 minutes or so in tense silence. Each has their own method of dealing with the waiting. Jack keeps his hands and mind occupied with his equipment, checking and rechecking each item to make sure it will work flawlessly when he needs it to work.

Overkill splits his attention between the real world and the Matrix, both he and his agent searching through the static of the Warrens to spot any icons that look out of place, while Amy tries to look calm and collected, but can't help to crack as smile when she hears Sam giggling in the other room. Even the happy sounds of her daughter can't completely erase the worry lines that formed from her recent scare.

Grease feels the worry and tension the hardest. While his face and voice are normal, inwardly he struggles with the need to take a hit to calm his nerves, to make everything okay again, to feel the rush as the Novacoke hits his system. After a few minutes, he sits in a chair and takes refuge in Rhex, feeling the world through the drones sensors, the mechanical interface numbing the desire for the drug. He knew from experience that it would only offer him a brief respite, but a sweet one nonetheless.

He was completing his sweep of the drone's line of sight with in the infrared spectrum, when a tone alerted him to an incoming message.


<<@ChurchFriends[Blocked]Will be available in 2 hours. Where is the meet? Just a reminder from our previous conversation that security is vital.>>

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

While they were waiting, Amy got up and went to the bathroom to put on her newly acquired AR contact lenses. She then connects them wirelessly to her commlink and all these devices are in turn put under the supervision of Overkill's deck. Walking back into the room, she informs everyone "Hey I can see what you guys are texting right in my eyes now, and all the other cool AR stuff too. I guess the next time I buy electronics I can get trodes, that'd be cool!" As she says this, she's interrupted by the sound of the burner link used to speak with Ramirez. "Oh! What's he saying? Is the meet on?"

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Welcome to the 21st century, Meine Liebling," Drave said with a sarcastic grin towards his young friend. "Usually, where I come from, it has been the younger generation that teaches the older generation about new technologies, not the other way around." He followed this with a reassuring pat on the back.

He picked up the commlink and looked at the message. "Its Ramirez alright, and he can meet us in 2 hours. He wants to know where the meet will be, and asked us to remember that security is vital."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

Having had some time to consider their options, Jack offered his own twist. "Alright, so Overkill... you can remotely operate the bug scanner right? What if Grease just hid it under his seat, switched it on as soon as Ramirez gets in the cab, you scan the cab for bugs, then Grease shuts it off? The main concern there is that Ramirez may have some kind of bug he doesn't know about."

"If Grease builds a route before hand, the three of us can follow at a pretty safe distance in a differnt cab, given that the Beemer sticks out and Grease would rather not use it. We could call a cab from Amindola's and just give the cabbie directions for where and when to turn. I imagine any of them would do it for a hefty tip. How does that plan sound? Grease has back-up in case the drek hits the fan, but the Johnson has the least amount of risk of exposure."

The ork still wasn't sure about leaving Grease alone with Ramirez, but the plan hinged around using Grease's taxi, so there wasn't much to be done about it. He who has the gold makes the rules...

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:40 PM, July 30th, 2075

While the details of the plan are being hashed out with the rest of the team, Grease responds to the message via his commlink.

<<@Ramirez [Churchfriends]: East 60th and Newport, 8:50 PM. A cab will pick you up.>>

Turning to address the group again, Grease responds to Jack.

"That could work. I'll just comment that we could have someone sitting up front without a problem; the windows are IR-tinted and darkened, so it's unlikely anyone would notice there was someone else in the cab. I'd honestly prefer it if we had some extra muscle coming along in case things go south quickly. Plus, I'm not exactly on Ramirez's good side after my little experiment to ferret out his true loyalties." Grease forces a smile at this last sentence. You're starting to be able to tell which ones are genuine, and which are part of his overall act. You'd guess at this point the ratio is something along the lines of 80:20, in favor of the fake ones, but there's really no way to be sure.

[Lobo0705]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

In less than a minute, the response comes back:

<<@Churchfriends [Blocked]: Confirmed>>

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack nods, "If you'd rather have back-up in the car, I could sit in the front seat with you. Are you planning on selling the taxi bit after you drop Ramirez off? Would it be odd for a cab driver to have someone else in their front seat with them? I'm not really familiar with the biz."

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease shrugs. "I'm not particularly worried. The tinted windows will make it hard to see anyone in the front seat. I'd say the benefit outweighs the risk of someone noticing something odd. Ramirez confirmed, by the way; we're on."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Good," Jack replied. "As it stands right now, we've got Grease driving the taxi with me riding shotgun and Overkill remotely operating a bug scanner in the vehicle. Following behind at a slight distance, we've got Overkill and Amy for back-up in case the drek hits the fan. You two should also be able to figure out if anyone is following Grease's taxi. We have a quick conversation with Ramirez about Bradshere, Case #5247, and possibly accessing Twoman. Then we drop him off somewhere and pick up another fare or two in case we miss anyone following us to throw them off our trail. Are we missing anything here? Does anyone have any cab contacts? I could try to secure the driver I used to take me to the initial meet with Ramirez, but he didn't seem too terribly reliable."


Jack finished checking the action of his SMG and slings it across his back. "Drek, I wish we had time to investigate the other two murders before meeting with him. I'd hate to have to reach out to Ramirez again if something turns up at either of them. Should we at least try to take a shot at looking at the Thomas murder site before we meet with Ramirez?"

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

Grease shakes his head at the second suggestion.

"No, that's a whole can of worms we should wait to investigate on a night we don't have a meet with the Johnson. We don't want to show up covered in dirt, shot, or both."

Turning to Overkill and Amy, Grease asks, "Are you two both Ok with this plan? I think it's solid, but if you have any suggestions I'd be more than willing to hear them."

Facing Jack again, he adds, "I think you can be in the cab when we meet Ramirez. Makes more sense than both of you getting in at the same time. Once we're done with Ramirez, I'll drop you off someplace else, then pick up a few fares."

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Yeah yeah, the plan's fine with me. We can all sit in the taxi with you, it's always better to all be together when we can help it."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

Jack was puzzled by Amy's comment, wondering if she had gone astral momentarily. Shrugging, he responded to Grease, "That should work. You should probably drop me off somewhere it wouldn't be very easy to see me getting out. It would look a bit weird if someone saw me getting out of the front seat of the cab after we let Ramirez out. A parking garage or something like that should work."

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:41 PM, July 30th, 2075

Greases nods absently. "Wait, the Thomas murder? I was thinking of the stiffs in the park. They're all starting to blend together to me.." He rubs the bridge of his nose between his eyes again. I could use a hit, the little devil on his shoulder mentioned in an offhand, persuasive way.

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:42 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Yeah, the Thomas murder was the one at his apartment here in the Warrens." Jack answered. "But you're probably right, we still need to come up with a route and find another taxi driver willing to work for a little extra nuyen before we can pull this plan off. We've only got two hours, so there isn't much time."

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:43 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Oh just Jack is riding with Grease, right? Sorry about that, I'm getting used to the augmented reality and I wasn't paying attention. So Overkill and me, we need a ride... I could call back the taxi driver from last time, I trust that guy."

Amy starts going through her contacts on the commlink to find Tony.

<<@Tony [Amy] Hey chummer. I might need a ride tonight, but it's not in the Warrens this time. Are you available? I'll pay you extra.>>

[Lobo0705]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:50 PM, July 30th, 2075

<<@Amy [Turbine] Cool - repeat customers (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) When and where - I'll shake loose of Mile High for a little while>>

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:50 PM, July 30th, 2075

"I got ourselves a ride. Tony's a good driver and he's used to the Warrens, so it takes a lot to spook him. I can tell him where and when to pick us up and he'll do it."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:50 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Frag, that was quick," Jack said. Checking the chronometer on his image link, he continued, "Looks like we got about an hour and a half to come up with a route. Let's get to it, shall we? Anyone got a map of Commerce City?"

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 6:50 PM, July 30th, 2075

"Indeed I do." Drave said as he opened up his Mapsoft of Denver in AR for everyone to see. "The plan works; lets be sure to have Tony give Grease a wide berth; we don't want to lead them straight to the Johnson."

[Lobo0705]

East Quincy Ave, Aurora Warrens, 8:25 PM, July 30th, 2075

After making Sam and Kevin promise to behave, Amy and the three other runners got into Grease's taxi and drove a couple of blocks away from Nic's. Grease let Amy and Overkill out on Quincy Ave near an old, dilapidated apartment building where they were to be picked up by Turbine. Grease and Jack sped away, the latter with the bug scanner under his seat as they headed toward the rendezvous with Ramirez.

As the sun slowly lowered itself past the horizon, and night fell in the Warrens, Amy concentrated for a moment, and then reached out into the Astral to summon help. It arrived a few moments later in the form of a burly metahuman shape, one that shifted forms, one moment an elf, the next an ork, then a human, and so on, as it represented all of the races of metahumanity. "How may I be of service?"

"Thank you for coming, spirit, I am concerned for my safety and that of my friends, and wish your guardianship this night. Come with me and watch for any Astral form that is following us"


The spirit, now an imposing Troll, nods its head and vanishes into the Astral, lingering in the area around Amy. A few minutes later, Turbine's car screeches to a halt in front of the pair of Elves, and the window comes down, "Hey good lookin'! Come on in - you too, pal, name's Tony, but call me Turbine -nice to meet you, and good to see you again Amy, where to?" He slows his speech down long enough for Amy to get a word in, and she gives him the basic directions.

"Sounds good to me - hold on to your hats!" And with a jolt that snaps their heads back, the car is off.

"Slow down a little, okay Tony? We are just here to follow, not to race."

"S'okay, sorry about that, force of habit. Let me tell you about the time I had to get a fare across Yak territory and..." Amy and Overkill sit back and listen to the story as they move toward where they would follow Grease and Jack.

East 60th and Newport, Commerce City, 8:50 PM, July 30th, 2075

After driving maneuvering through the late night traffic, Grease and Jack turn on to East 60th Street. Both have been watchful to make sure that no one has followed them, except Turbine's car. He was about 10 car lengths back now, and blending in nicely. Jack's eyes spotted Ramirez first, standing on the corner as requested. The old cop was alert, scanning the street for any sign of trouble. As the cab pulled up and Grease popped the back door open, Ramirez looked in for a moment, and then got in. Grease pulled out into traffic again, and started to drive away. Grease sent a message to Overkill, who quickly turned on his bug scanner via remote, and there were a tense couple of seconds until both Jack and Grease received the message on their image link <<@Jack and Grease [Overkill] All clear, no bugs in the car>>.

From the back seat came Ramirez's voice, "Well, you called this meet, what is going on?"

[Jack VII]

East 60th and Newport, Commerce City, 8:50 PM, July 30th, 2075

While Grease focused on driving, Jack replied without turning his head. "Good evening, Mr. Johnson. We know your time is valuable and don't want to take too much of it. We wanted to update you with the results of our investigation so far. There is a datachip in the seat pocket in front of you containing our case files. We'd like for you to review them before we continue the conversation."

Jack watched as the neighborhood passed by, foot traffic being somewhat light at this point in time.

[Lobo0705]

Quebec Parkway, Commerce City, 8:58 PM, July 30th, 2075

Ramirez nods at Jack, and casts a watchful eye at the back of Grease's head. He picks up the data chip and slots it into his commlink, and begins to read. Grease keeps the car slow and steady, or at least slow and steady by his standards, moving through the traffic with ease.

After about 10 minutes, they have turned left onto the Quebec Parkway, passing the Rocky Mountain Arsenal on the right. The fences border who knows what inside that great expanse, and its eerie blackness in both the physical and virtual world stick like a hole in the surrounding vista.

Ramirez seems impressed, "Well, I can see you boys have been busy these last two days. That's some good investigative work there. The report isn't complete though, so what do you need from me?"

[Jack VII]

Quebec Parkway, Commerce City, 8:58 PM, July 30th, 2075

Continuing to observe their surroundings, Jack replied, "Just so that we're on the same page, we're currently guessing that the killings have something to do with whatever drug the Los Mags are pushing. We think its called Crimson Fire but haven't confirmed that yet. We're also pretty confident that the Los Mags hired Lynx's crew to do most of the dirty work. We still need to follow-up with a few witnesses to tie things together."

Pausing momentarily, Jack ordered his thoughts. "Where we are running into a wall is the greater conspiracy. In particular, if you look at the Manuel case, you'll notice that he had concerns about a fellow Lone Star officer named LT. Bradshere and a certain case. We need more information on those topics. You advised us not to poke around Lone Star, but we're not sure how much further we can get without doing that, or having someone else do it for us."

"We also are trying to put a plan together to try and get a hold of this Twoman character, either inside or outside prison, depending on if he ever gets bailed out. We looked up how to visit the prison and would at least need his SIN to start."

"We've also still got two murders that we still need to investigate. While we have plenty of information to get started with the Thomas murder, the details on the Taylor case were very sparse. We don't even have a physical location of the crime to start our investigation, unless we could get access to his police cruiser and its camera, if it had one."

"So that's where we stand. Our main reason for meeting was to give you a head's up about LT Bradshere. The evidence is thin, but he's the only lead into a possible Lone Star cover-up that we've been able to find so far. Understanding that you are extremely limited in what you can put your hands on, any help on your end could help us out significantly."

Jack stopped talking and awaited Ramirez's response.

[Lobo0705]

Quebec Parkway, Commerce City, 9:02 PM, July 30th, 2075

Ramirez manipulates the file as he listens to Jack. Rubbing his chin with his hand, he says, "I haven't heard of Bradshere, but that doesn't mean anything - he's only a LT in a different division. I can try and do some quiet digging on him and see what I can pull up."

He takes the data chip out of his commlink and hands it back to Jack. "I'll see what I can do about that file, but that is going to be tricky, especially if someone is keeping an eye on it. Twoman's SIN is the easiest. I can run a report of the prison and get all of the SINs of the inmates in a particular block, that should be a broad enough search to not arouse suspicion, and will include his data."

Grease turned the vehicle onto East 72nd street, only a few more minutes away from their destination. "I don't know what I can do for the Taylor murder. The video feed will already be in the Lone Star host, and it would be suspicious if I start pulling that footage. The rest of it I will try and get back to you by tomorrow night."


"Is that all you need?"