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

[Jack VII]

Somewhere in the Aurora Warrens, 9:02 PM, July 31st, 2075

With half the distance traveled between the Motel 6 and Nic's Knacks, Jack felt relatively safe in Fronts territory. He knew he owed the majority of his protection to his association with Nic, but he liked to think he appeared to be a bit more than most street thugs would want to try to take on without a lot of backup.

Musing about his social position in the Warrens, Jack almost missed the message received icon flashing in his image link. Scowling when he noticed the sender's identity was blocked, the ork checked the message anyway.

Well now... that's interesting, he thought to himself as he responded to the text.

[DrZaius]

The Rusty Bar-rel, 9:08 PM, July 31st, 2075

Reluctantly, Grease sends the video across the table to Murphy.

Let him think I was pushing him on price...

"I'll give you a minute to review it, but this has got to be worth a heck of a lot more than all the bits and pieces you're pulling from WatchMe!" Grease gave his normal drek-eating grin adding, "We freelancers take a certain appreciation of our art. Are you sure you WANT video of officers of Lone Star delivering an illegal warrant and starting a riot at a peace rally?"

[Lobo0705]

The Rusty Bar-rel, 9:08 PM, July 31st, 2075

Murphy completes the download of the file, then reaches into his pocket, pulls out a certified credstick, and slides it across the table. "Hey pal, I ain't a rat, but this is over the top. Whatever is going on here is likely to get me or my friends shot the next time we have to go in the Warrens, and that drek-hole is bad enough as it is."

Dropping his finished cigar into an ashtray, he pulls a new one from his pocket, sniffs it, and then bites off the end and spits it on the floor. He lights up, and starts to rise. "Ladies, pleasure doing business with you."

Murphy walks toward the exit, and stops to speak to the waitress a moment, then leaves. Grease finishes his drink, then slots the credstick into his 'link, the balance showing 1500 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) Before he has much time to enjoy the extra 500 he made, the waitress stops at the table. "Will that be all honey? Your friend you'd be taking care of the check." An ARO appears in front of Grease, and it appears Murphy was drinking the good stuff, as the check is for 75 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) ...

[DrZaius]

The Rusty Bar-rel, 9:08 PM, July 31st, 2075

Grease smiles, and answers the waitress, "Nah, we're waiting for another friend. Just keep my tab open."

One he's sure Murphy is gone, Grease sends a quick message to Jack.

<<@Jack[Grease](CC:Team): We're at the Rusty Bar-rel. Can you come meet us?>>

Talking low to Overkill, Grease adds, "I want to ask Jack a few questions before we move forward. That cool with you?"

[Jack VII]

Somewhere in the Aurora Warrens, 9:08 PM, July 31st, 2075

With about one more mile to go to get to Nic's, Jack's message icon lit up again. Who is it this time? he thought to himself. Checking the message, he noted the drek-eating grin picture of an elf attached to the contact information and opened the message. Glancing through it, he frowned and responded.

<<@Team [JustJack] I'm hoofing it on foot to Nic's and should be there in about 20 minutes. Can you meet me there?>>

[Always Overkill]

The Rusty Bar-rel, 9:08 PM, July 31st, 2075

Drave gives Grease an apprehensive yet understanding look, "Es ist cool, it would be for the best to get this out in the open now; so we can get on with the rest of our job without having to look over our shoulders."

[Always Overkill]

Double Post

[DrZaius]

The Rusty Bar-rel, 9:08 PM, July 31st, 2075

Grease nods at Overkill. "Yes; I think it's for the best. I have to trust the people I work with."

He then reads the message from Jack, frowning.

Back at your house, on your terrain, with your enormous troll friend? No problem.

<<@Jack [Grease](CC: Team): See you in 20.>>

Downing the last of his drink, Grease motions to Overkill, while talking loud enough for Amy to hear. "We're leaving, let's get a move on."

If he thinks I won't kill him in front of Amy's kids if I need to, he's got another thing coming.

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:40 PM, July 31st, 2075

After a little more than an hour, Jack finally arrived home. The shabby looking building containing Nic's Knacks huddled across the street from Sunset Park. Given that sunset had occurred several hours ago, it was more like Dark In Shadows Park now. Still, the shop was well-secured and it had been months since anyone had tried to break in; the ork figured that word might have gotten around not to mess with the old troll after what happened to the last drek-head that tried. Jack was slightly surprised to see the small parking area was empty. Apparently the team had not shown up yet. Then again, after having been in some kind of fight, they might be decompressing at the Rusty Bar-Rel.

Approaching the door, Jack used his commlink to cycle the maglock open. Entering the main shop area, the ork secured the door and cycled the maglock again. Grabbing his head, he twisted it slightly, trying to work the kinks out in a series of pops. Considering this was supposed to have been an off day for him, a lot had happened over the last few hours and it didn't look like he was going to head to sleep anytime soon. Looking around the room, he noticed Nic and Kevin tinkering with an old toy robot Nic had dug up somewhere. It was one of the few things in the shop that actually had wireless access to the Matrix. Kevin seemed pretty happy about that fact. "This one's alive, Nic!" he exclaimed, before Nic shushed him and pointed toward Jack's room. Kid must be asleep, the ork thought to himself before waving at Nic. The troll nodded his head slightly, a concerned look on his face.

"What went down tonight, Jack?" the troll asked.

"I'm not sure, amigo. I got called away right before the rally started. Something did for sure though... the rest of the team is heading over now." Jack responded while clearing off a bit of refuse covering one of the recliners before taking a seat. Pulling up his commlink, he attempted to scan for any news reports or weblog posts to see if there was any indication of what happened.

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:42 PM, July 31st, 2075

Arriving outside of Nic's Knacks in the steel grey BMW, Overkill watched Grease nervously. Grease drove slowly over here, taking his time in AR, not really talking. "Slowly" being a relative term; it was still significantly faster than Overkill would be willing to travel, even on his bike. Still, for someone who seemed to travel at speeds best left to advanced maglev trains or fighter jets, going only 20 over the speed limit was cause for concern.

Getting out of the car, Grease cycled the action on his Ares Light Fire, pushing it into the concealable holster in the small of his back. With a grim, determined look he entered Nic's Knacks, making a beeline for Jack who was sitting on the recliner.

"You want to explain where you went?" Grease asked without preamble.

[Lobo0705]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:42 PM, July 31st, 2075

As Grease enters the room with Overkill and Amy in tow, the following can be heard from the trid set in the other room.

"Hello, we are continuing our coverage of the attack at Horseshoe Park in the Warrens this evening, where sources say there are at least five dead and dozens injured. We have Christin Sciulli at the scene. Christin, what can you tell us about what is going on there?"

A pretty brunette is in front of the camera, the scene behind her a mass of police in riot gear and carrying assault rifles, with Steel Lynx drones and spirits maneuvering around them. There are several Doc Wagon vehicles on scene, but these seem to be ignoring most of the wounded, instead treating a handful of people wearing yellow t-shirts.


"Well John, as you can see, the scene is chaotic. None of the Lone Star officers present will make a statement, although we have received reports from sources inside the Star that indicate this was the work of "Warrens United", a home grown terror group whose goal is the repeal of the Treaty of Denver's stipulation that the Warrens is to be demolished. We have not yet been able to confirm that, and no one at Warrens United has claimed responsibility for the attack on Lone Star personnel."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:42 PM, July 31st, 2075

Jack didn't immediately reply to Grease. Instead, he listened to the rest of the news report from Christin Sciulli in silence. He could tell by Grease's direct questioning that the elf was suspicious of him. Were he in the elf's shoes, he'd probably be suspicious too. While it was understandable, the ork knew he wasn't working at odds against the group, so it was a difficult pill to swallow, especially coming from this particular vector.

Pointing at the trid, he said, "I assume we're going to talk about that at some point? Because that is completely fragged up..."

Shaking his head, the ork continued, "Like I said earlier... my contact, the one who's gotten us our nice new toys and who was looking into the folks on Amy and Overkill's trail, ran into some trouble. Let's call my contact Pat. Anyway, Pat hit up a few of his contacts and then heard nothing back from them. Worried, Pat went to ground and asked to talk to me. That was the message I got at the rally. When I showed up at Pat's safehouse, we chatted and I thought that was that... Instead, when I was leaving, I ran into a gigante black troll who has to be Lynx's guy, Truck. He looked like like the guy the waitress at Schaefer's described. By the way, the reason he was silent at the diner is probably because he doesn't have a tongue. Anyway, Pat had two friends running interference on the troll. One of them's definitely dead, not sure about the other."

Jack closed his eyes for a moment while recalling the rest of the evening. "I grabbed Pat and we managed to snag a cab out of there. I put Pat up at a different place for now and then walked back here. Did the timing suck? Yeah. Did I plan it? Nope."

Moving with slow, obvious movements, Jack pulled his commlink off his arm and tossed it to Overkill. "Like I said earlier, I'm willing to be an open book. I authorized Overkill to MARK my commlink if he wants to look through it. Between the GPS logs, call logs, and text messages, there should be plenty to corroborate what I'm saying."

Holding up a finger before anyone could break in, the ork continued, "Here's the catch, I trust Overkill enough to let him look through my comm, but I don't trust you. Somehow, these fraggers are getting the jump on us, and I want to know how. Easiest way to figure this drek out is adentro hacia afuera. If you want Overkill to take a look at my comm, he has to be able to take a look at yours."

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:42 PM, July 31st, 2075

Grease listened, arms crossed. He let Jack finish before responding.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out Jack. Where the leak is. If there is a leak. This whole thing has gone off the rails, and I'm not sure what our next move is."

He nods to Overkill. "If we check yours first, Overkill can check mine. I've got nothing to hide. I'm an open book!" Overkill wasn't the type to smirk, but Grease got the sense he wanted to after his last comment.

"Well, I'm not holding anything back here. Your story checks out, we'll be fine. With the luck we've been having, Overkill is the one we have to worry about, and he's calling the hit squad to our location as we speak." Before Overkill has a chance to protest, Grease raises a hand. "A bad joke. My point is, why are we behind the 8 ball here? We need to find this Lynx character, and get some answers."

As if it just occured to him, Grease's eyes go wide. "Oh. And we have a stop we have to make. There's some unfinished business to attend to at the place we were before we hit the Rusty Bar-rel." Grease eyes Kevin, making sure he doesn't say too much.

The fewer people in the world who know we killed a cop, the better.

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:43 PM, July 31st, 2075

"Fine by me. You got the MARKS invite, Overkill. Do your thing." Jack responded.

Looking over the rest of the crew, he noticed Amy had changed clothes. Gunshots do leave quite a bit of blood... kid's too young for this drek. Figuring the crew would talk in more detail about the night's events at a later point in time, Jack returned his attention to the trid set while Overkill searched through his comm.

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:45 PM, July 31st, 2075


As Jack handed him his link, Drave was somewhat distracted by the news report, so he set it to record in his AR display while he did his work.

After spending a few minutes inspecting the link, he looked up at his team and said, "Jack's story checks out. GPS Records match, and the number that called him just before the rally was the same number Jack had called to contact his fence."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:45 PM, July 31st, 2075

Jack shrugged, having expected that answer, and looked at Grease expectantly.

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:45 PM, July 31st, 2075

Didn't Jack just purchase a bunch of burner comms? Well, I'll play the charade with him.

Grease hits a few buttons, sending the MARKS to Overkill.

"I gave him control of my car this evening; I think it's pretty clear I've got nothing to hide. This paranoia; it's not helpful. You really should try to be more trusting."

Seeing Jack's teeth grit, Grease continues unfazed. "Once we are all set here proving my innocence and showing me for the paragon of the community I am, we really do need to get going to the other location; there's a time sensitive package we need to deal with."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:45 PM, July 31st, 2075

Jack laughed harshly for several seconds. "I agree with you on the paranoia bit hombre, but from where I'm sitting it seems like you're aim is off... and honestly, what would giving Overkill control of your car prove? Ah, whatever, if everything turns up smelling like rosas, it doesn't really matter."

Now who's accusing who of what? What was that movie line about what to do if you got caught? "Make wild and outrageous counteraccusations?" Seems to fit well here...

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:45 PM, July 31st, 2075

Amy really didn't seem to care much for all this back and forth between Jack and Grease, although she didn't intervene to prevent it either. Well that's a pain in the butt. I knew shadowrunners were not the kind to trust anyone, even each other, but this is getting old. "Aaanyway. What's that package, Grease? What the heck are you talking about? What other location?"

It had been a tough evening for Amy, and she had a pretty nasty headache right now, not to mention a bullet wound that still hurt like hell. She didn't have the energy to figure out even a simple reference like that.

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:46 PM, July 31st, 2075

"Yes, what package? Now that Overkill has gone through my sock drawer, maybe someone might let me know what the frag happened out there? Although I have to admit, the story Christin is spinning is pretty riveting."

The ork continued to watch the broadcast as more bodies were carted off in the background.

[DrZaius]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:46 PM, July 31st, 2075

Grease sighs dramatically.

"The package you left at the Doctor's office Amy. I think you may have short-circuited it. Ring any bells?.. "

Seeing the moment of comprehension click in Amy's eyes, Grease continues. "Yes, that one. Jack, I can explain on the way."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:46 PM, July 31st, 2075

The banter made Jack think they may be referring to one of the Lone Star drones mentioned on the trid. At least, he hoped they were referring to one of the Lone Star drones they mentioned on the trid. "I feel like this is probably something I don't want to know about... but since we're a team, I guess I'm in regardless."

"Anybody need to take care of anything before we go take care of this package?" Jack eyed his helmet and armor jacket resting next to the recliner but rejected them as a bit too obvious. Hopefully the vest will cover anything we run into...

[Chrome Head]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:46 PM, July 31st, 2075

"Oooh.."

"Right. Well, there's a video that this man was willing to share with yet another friggin' Lone Star, so you should see it too, Jack. There's everything on it. Long story short, I may have killed a cop tonight, and we may be donating his organs for science... We can talk on the way."

Amy goes back to her room and puts on her armor jacket. "I'm ready when you are."

[Jack VII]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:46 PM, July 31st, 2075

Jack took a few seconds trying to put together a response. It didn't seem to help. "Wha- Cop? Video? 'This man'? What the drek are you talking about?" The ork noticed both Kevin and Nic staring at the team. Lowering his voice, he continued, "Alright, let's continue this in the car, but I want the whole story. From what you're saying, we're probably up to our necks in drek. We might need to tell Ramirez we're out and lay low..."

[Always Overkill]

Nic's Knacks, Aurora Warrens, 9:46 PM, July 31st, 2075

Watching the exchange between his comrades while working in AR, Drave audibly snorted when Grease made the line about what a paragon of the community he was, but quickly covered the smirk that followed with his cybernetically enhanced reflexes. As Drave listened to Amy so eloquently inform Jack of the trouble they had run into after he had left, Smooth... was all he could think; he repeated the inspection he had done for Jack's link for Grease's; and he was not surprised when nothing out of the ordinary came up, save the few messages he exchanged with Murphy and someone who Drave could only presume was his dealer.

"Its clean," Drave said, tossing the link back to Grease as the crew was getting ready to walk out the door. "Now that that's over with, it got bad, Meine Genosse," he said, turning to Jack after the crew had piled in the car, feeling the need to better explain how things went down. "Right after you left, two Lone Star Patrol Cruisers and a squadron well-armed of Drones descended on the rally, almost as if on cue with its beginning. Chomsky and Greeley had barely had time to welcome the crowd by the time two officers in full body armor were marching to the stage to deliver an arrest warrant for them; on drug charges, no less. It all seems unbelievable right from the start, two cars and some drones to arrest the main speakers at a rally with hundreds of people in attendance? Suicidal might be a good word for it. I told Amy to demand to see the warrant, and sure enough, it was signed by a Harvey Brown, sound familiar? It was the Head of Homicide Ramirez thinks might be at the top of our conspiracy investigation. By that time, Chomsky and Greeley were already being led away to the patrol cruisers. We had to stop them, so when it was clear that talking was going to do us no good, we made our move, taking out their drones first. One of the officer opened fire on Amy, point blank using explosive ammunition, then all hell broke loose." Drave turned back towards the news update on the trid, his conscience obviously weighing on him. "Seeing the fallout from the fight on the news, I worry we may have been too reckless in our protection of them, innocent people lost their lives tonight. But I truly believe that if we hadn't acted, Chomsky and Greeley would never have reached the station alive."