Nothing's Free in the Free Zone (IC), Adventure 2: A Dish Best Served Cold Options

[Lobo0705]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Amber, seeing Snap's nod, turns to Mel and Jack before speaking quietly in something that sounds like Chinese but is a dialect that no one recognizes. Snap sees the mage's aura shimmer and then begin to glow as she incants her spell.

Turning to the first bodyguard, she snaps a command in Mandarin for him to look at her, and she says, "Shì nǐ bèizhe yīgè gēnzōng qì?"

[ Spoiler ]

"Were you carrying a tracker?"

The man's face twisted in anger, and he spat back, "Shénme? Nǐ zěnme gǎn zhíyí wǒ de zhōngchéng dù? Wǒ yǒngyuǎn bù huì bèipàn hóng lǎo."

[ Spoiler ]

"What? How dare you question my loyalty? I would never betray Hung Lao."

[Melpomene]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Mel, after getting Snap's message, accesses her Viper's smartgun interface through AR, checking its readiness. She then grips the gun, holding it so that the barrel is pointing straight up. Without knowing what was being said between the woman and the two bodyguards, she didn't want to point the gun at the wrong person and exacerbate the situation.

<<@Team [Melpomene] Jack, following your lead. I don't know what they're saying, but your target is my target.>>

[Jack VII]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Silently replying, Jack sent back to the team.

<<@Team [JustJack] She asked him if he had the tracker. He said no and seems pissed she asked. Snap, if you get any indication of deception let us know. I don't think what's dribblin' out their mouths is going to matter. Mel, if it comes down to it, just threaten with your pistol. Bullets in close spaces are a bad idea. I've got something a bit more... surgical.>>

Jack kept one hand free. Behind the cover of the seat he snapped out his handblade and mentally changed his SMG to semi-automatic.

[Lobo0705]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Amber held up a hand, "Ràng zìjǐ lěngjìng xiàlái. Zuò xiàlái, ānjìng xiàlái."

[ Spoiler ]

Calm yourself. Sit down and be quiet.

She turns to the next man, and repeats her initial question. Jack sees his grip tighten on his SMG.

[PraetorGradivus]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075.

Sisco thinks to himself, Well Uncle Morty, that was some fine driving if I do say so myself. I guess I ought to see were the team wants to go.

As he switches from VR to meatspace, Sisco is just in time to witness Jack stab one of the bodyguards.

"What the frag!"

Sisco reaches back with his cyberarm hoping he has enough reach to touch Jack's target and shock him.

[Lobo0705]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075.

Jack closed the distance between the two before the Triad member could raise his gun more than a few inches. The handblade drove in between the gaps in his armor, glancing off bone on its way in. Snap's spell hit the guy hard enough that he was ripped out of Jack's hands, and Mel's bullet made sure he didn't get up.

The other bodyguard turned toward them, but a hand on his shoulder from Amber stopped him.

"Thank you - it seems we have found our mole. Search him."

[Jack VII]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Jack nodded. "Sounds good. Mel, you want to search him?" The ork had had just about enough of the double crossing. He maintained his grip on his weapon while reaching back to pick up the SMG the mole had been carrying.

[Melpomene]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Mel nods, mentally trying to will her heart to stop beating so fast. She'll holster the Viper, and, confident that her allies have her back, will rifle through the unconscious man's pockets, also checking for any other hardware on his person.

[PraetorGradivus]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

Sisco thought to himself, Damn Uncle Morty, that slip of a girl beat me to the punch. What did you always say: must be getting too old for this drek.

"Well ladies and gentlemen- which star am I setting course for?"

[Chrome Head]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:53 PM, September 12, 2075

"I dunno, but I can't wait to question him when he wakes up," added Snap.

She turns to Hung Lao. "Do you have any idea who might have been behind this?"

Let's see if he lies...

[Melpomene]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:54 PM, September 12, 2075

Mel sits back after searching the unconscious goon. "Nothing so far...hang on..."

She then sits back and activates her deck, her fingers moving across it with speed and precision. After about five seconds... "Bingo."

Putting the deck aside, Mel kneels down to the goon's feet, removes his left shoe, and wrenches open the heel, revealing a secret compartment. She then removes a small tracer from it and holds it up.

[PraetorGradivus]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:54 PM, September 12, 2075

"Mel- take off the guy's shirt. Let's see if I or our guests can recognize which Incense Master inked his initiation oath tattoo. If it's the master from Huiquing's own lodge, then it's got to be a sanctioned hit from above. In which case, he might as well transfer all his asset's to his son, shave his head and join some obscure Taoist monastery. Hopefully, it's a different lodge and Huiquing will know his options based on which one it is.

Good thing I'm not human nor Chinese, Uncle Morty. Otherwise, a certain Incense Master from the Golden Triangle would have saddled me with an initiation tattoo- whether I wanted it or not.

Sisco programs a circular route for Mr. T and places it on autopilot. He then turns around to see if he recognizes the tattoo.

[PraetorGradivus]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

The back of the van explodes into a heated exchange of Chinese expletives and recriminations. Mel and Snap are completely lost, and they are speaking too fast for Jack and Sisco to attempt to translate. After a few seconds Huiquing shouts "Enough!" the older man's voice cutting through the noise. "Answer her question."

Hung Lao turns to Snap and says, "I know this man. He was recruited by my second in command, Li Guang. This is very troubling I had hoped to trust him, but it seems that Li Guang is at the very least providing the muscle behind this coup."

[PraetorGradivus]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

Turning to Hung Lao, "Since this man is a 25 and we neutralized him for you, I assume you'll be procuring us the standing bounty all such traitors have on their head."

Greed-unadulterated greed Uncle Morty. But hey, if he pays ups for his Lodge Master I ain't complaining.

[Lobo0705]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

"With regards to any bounty, that can be discussed after we reach a safe location." Huiquing turns to Hung Lao, "Is your compound safe? Or are there more men from Li Guang who will be there?"

Hung Lao bows his head in shame, "There are four men at the compound now whom I trust implicitly. There are two more that I'm not sure of. I will have my men detain them before we arrive., and Amber can interrogate them to determine their true loyalties."

"The larger threat is of course Li Guang. He probably has 20 or 25 men he can rely on. I have perhaps 30. We can go to war, but it will only weaken the Triad even further, and it will be impossible to conceal from outside. We need to eliminate Li Guang."

[Jack VII]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

"Well I'm not eliminating nobody unless I get some more ammo." Jack announced to no one in particular. "Let's get somewhere reasonably safe for now."

<<@Team [JustJack] Keep on your toes folks, we're still dealing with the Triads here.>>

[Chrome Head]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

Snap looks satisfied with Hung Lao's answer.

<<@Team [Snap] At least I really don't think Hung Lao's lying to us about it. And let's not forget that we work for Huiqing. If Li Guang's got something against Hung Lao, maybe our boss can negotiate a truce or even a new partnership, in exchange for Hung Lao himself.>>

[Lobo0705]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

Huiquing addresses Hung Lao, "Very well - if Li Guang is at the head of this revolt, then we need to eliminate him. Even if he is not, eliminating him takes away a significant portion of my opponent's firepower."

Turning to the group, "Thank you again for your decisiveness, you have performed excellently. It seems that we now at least have a clear direction to move forward. Hung Lao will provide your driver with an address, and we can address your need for ammunition and other equipment."

[Chrome Head]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

<<@Team[Snap] Well, so much for my idea. Assassination it is...>>

"Glad we could be of service, but this job is getting more and more involved. You now want us to hit a target who expects it and is very well defended. Do we have an agreement that ending Li Guang completes our contract?"

[Lobo0705]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

Huiquing listened to Snap's request and thought about it for a few seconds. He finally nodded. "I believe that with Li Guang neutralized, Huang Lao should be able to handle any additional needs that we may have. I am satisfied that the elimination of Li Guang will conclude our contract, and any further needs I may have will have to be renegotiated. Is that satisfactory?"

[Jack VII]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

Jack nodded silently. He figured they were going to have to get their hands dirty when they made the original agreement.

[Chrome Head]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

"Yes."

"Now let's think about how we should go about this." She added, turning to the team, and especially Jack, who always seemed to have a plan.

[Jack VII]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

Jack frowned and thought for a moment. "I'm not that familiar with the Triads, but I guess we have some subject matter experts here. The best possible case would probably be to cut off the head to put an end to the revolt... but that entirely depends on how much forgiveness would be offered to the foot soldiers. So, if killing Li Guang will put a stop to this, that's what we need to do. But if he has a lot of guys, we're going to have to figure out how to isolate him, either by figuring out where he's based or drawing him into an ambush." Glancing at Amber, he finished, "To do that, we're probably going to need some help, even if it's only a distraction."

"Aside from trying to heal up a little, we need more information, but we need to get it quick, because it's unlikely Lu Guang is going to be just sitting around on his hoop. Fortunately," the ork said nudging the unconscious Triad at his feet, "we might have a good lead on getting some of that data."

[PraetorGradivus]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

"Normally Jack, there'd be no point in questioning this guy- he'd die a horrible mojo death before betraying his triad. But as luck would have it, he isn't a member of our employer's triad but a competing one. So I believe as long as you keep the questions centered on Li Guang and his operation we're alright. If you start to touch upon his real bosses or why a Golden Triangle 49er is working for a White Lotus leader he'll probably stop cooperating- permanently."

I'm wondering what's going through Huiquing and Huang Lo's minds. Damn, Uncle Morty, I know these guys must be talking back and forth with their secret body language. If only I knew that drek. Of course, if they knew I knew it, I'd be dead. So there is that.

[Melpomene]

Mr. T, CAS Zone, 9:55 PM, September 12, 2075

"I accede to Sisco's wisdom here. I don't have any meaningful knowledge about the workings of the Triads. I'm cool with whatever you guys think is best."