Tangled Currents - Tbyte Options

[Mercy]

Friday 8 June 2075 1905 Titus' Hideout


Your search of both Alex Gordon and his wife includes the assistant, Harold Pennywise. All three have IBook pages, but no MeFeeds. The Gordons are big on taking vacations to exotic locales, where Margaret takes lots of pictures and posts them for all of her "friends" to like. There are lots of comments from other women about how lucky she is. Alex's pages are more prosaic and Harold's downright boring, although he does seem to have one passion that gets mentioned frequently; a cabin on a lake in the nearby Cascades. There are some pictures and it is indeed something to be proud of, going far beyond what most people think of as a cabin. Public records indicate that the bank itself does not seem to have ever had any scandals associated with it.

[Unlucky Badger]

Friday 8 June 2075 1905 Titus' Hideout

For the most part, Tbyte was amused looking over the pages of his mark and associates. Who needed intrusion when people were more than willing to display their lives on the net for all the world to see without any provocation? It did lead to the inevitable conclusion that for the most part their public lives were mostly clean but everyone has secrets, and the more on display their public life the darker the secrets. He hadn't initially considered even bothering with the secretary. Thinking on it for a little bit, Tbyte figured that the secretary could be knowingly or unknowingly involved in anything shady Mr. Gordan was up to. He sent an agent off to find and sit on Harold's commlink to start copying over the 'links contents and sending any real-time activity back to the deck while he set to work getting into Gordan's 'link in prep for the flood of data that was sure to come during tomorrow's workday.

[Mercy]

Friday 8 June 2075 2100 Titus' Hideout



The secretary's name is Joan Wright. She is thirty-two years old and a looker. Based on the public page of employees, she is by far the best looing woman working at the branch. She, too, has an IBook page and frequently post some of the stupidest things you have ever seen in print. She is apparently content to "like" and pass on every inane piece of drivel about her favorite cause of the rights of paracritters. Her list of "friends" seems to include both Alex Gordon and Harold Pennywise, as well as about twenty people in Columbia. One of the contacts there is apparently the creator of the articles about the plight of the paracritters. The weirdness of the information and the vitriol spewed against people who condone this travesty seems to have limited the number of people viewing the information. Your tag on Alex Gordon's phone picks up an inbound transmission from his secretary at just 2113. The message is innocuous and informs him of a text she has received from the parent branch in Seattle that the scheduled external audit was being moved from 7/31 to 6/28. Apparently the change is being made to accommodate the travel plans of the branch manager, who had inadvertently scheduled a trip to Columbia for the original audit date. Gordon thanks his secretary and hangs up. Minutes later, Gordon calls Pennywise and tells him the news. Pennywise tells Gordon that they will be ready.

[Unlucky Badger]

Friday 8 June 2075 2115 Titus' Hideout

It had initially seemed that the secretary was just a harmless oddball but the time of day and the 'tone' of the messages tugged at Tbyte. Traveling to Colombia wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for the branch manager and his wife but it most definitely would be for Pennywise, if his assumption that the way he said "We will be ready" implied he'd be joining them. There's also the fact that the audit was conveniently moved a month for this little trip. Half a century prior and any trip to Colombia would immediately make one think of the drug trade but Tbyte couldn't imagine that they had a need to resort to such things?

Assuming Tbyte was right and it wasn't just his paranoid mind playing tricks, then the manager and company might be planning to abscond with quite a bit of money and thus needed to reschedule the audit. The hacker decided to pull up Wright's IBook page and compare her Colombian 'friends' with any of the bounty lists for Lone Star and the UCAS. If that turned up nothing then he'd look through the data on Wright's 'link to try and confirm their accomodations in Colombia and waiting to eavesdrop on any other communications.

[Mercy]

Friday 8 June 2075 2215 Titus' Hideout



While researching the Gordon's itinerary, you note the address of the hotel they are staying at in Columbia and nothing stands out as odd. The hotel is advertised as a five-star residence retreat from the outer world and lots of the amenities listed would certainly suggest that is true. The host for the hotel provides easy access to tours of the rooms provided and most of the amenities, such as the beach, spa, pool, etc.

Interestingly enough, the secretary's friends list includes several people with bounties from Lone Star and KE, as well as several countries. Most of these men are wanted for various white collar crimes such as embezzlement and money laundering. Unfortunately, Columbia seems to have some rather special laws protecting certain people, such as embezzlers and money launderers, etc.

[Unlucky Badger]

Friday 8 June 2075 2215 Titus' Hideout

Tbyte switches back into AR and cranes his head over the armrest. "Alright so long story short, it seems to me this guy and his collaborators are probably looking to fly the coop with a pretty cool nuyen balance." He gets out his own deck from his backpack. "How certain do you need that to be? Cuz if you're lookin' for the solid finances then things might get a bit messy."

[Mercy]

Titus looks up from a pad he is reading and nods. "Are you certain who the collaborators are? Have you found all of the group and are any of them simply patsies or are all of them in on this? Where does the wife fit in and does her husband know she is having an affair? Ahhhh, yes. Bringing out your deck? Good. I am sure it is superior to the one provided to you. Are hungry? There is pizza I can heat up, or some soydogs."

[Unlucky Badger]

Friday 8 June 2075 2220 Titus' Hideout

Tbyte shrugs, fiddling around with the settings on his personal deck as he speaks. "There's only so much that can be gained through going through someone's garbage. I'll walk you through the list. Mr Gordon's secretary has an Ibook friends list comprised of many people wanted by multiple countries for exactly the sort of thing I suspect Gordan and company of. Much like last century, Colombia's extradition status sucks massively so it'd be a good place to flee to. Pennywise was the first person he contacted after being told the date had been moved so the assistant is likely in on this as well. One can see multiple scenarios for the wife depending on what type of person she is, she might be well aware of what's going on and started having the fling simply because she knew they'd be permanently out of the country soon. It's also possible Mr Gordan is aware of her being unfaithful and is planning on running away and throwing his wife and assistant manager under the bus."

He shrugs. "You can spin a pretty nice web or the entire thing could be a complete coincidence and I'm seeing connections where none exist. Should have a better idea soon though." Tbyte uses the mid-grade deck supplied to him to place an agent on Wright's 'link, spoofing a message from her to the resort. <<Good evening, this is Joan Wright just clearing some things up for the Gordan party. We are booked for four people, correct?>> He'd set the agent to transfer any messages from the resort to him and not display them on Wright's commlink without his permission.

On his other deck, he start poking around to see if he can't find a passenger list for the nearest suborbital on that day. Certainly a risky way to travel if the main branch even remotely suspected something but considering how much they left out in plain view, he guessed they weren't too good at this sort of thing.

[Mercy]

Friday 8 June 2075 2300 Titus' Hideout



The agent reports back that it is unable to penetrate the firewall and establish the connection to Wright's 'link. Your own search of the passenger lists for the day in question takes more time than you had thought it would, thanks to some pesky IC on the airline's host, but you do finally determine that there are reservations for both a Mr. and Mrs. Alex Gordon to Columbia on the day in question. You do not find any for either the assistant or the secretary.

[Unlucky Badger]

This new information put the hacker in a bit of a bind, if the secretary and assistant were in on any potential fraud it wouldn't make sense for them to stay behind. On the other hand it may be the case that it was listed as a personal trip rather than business and thus it would look very suspicious indeed if everyone up and left before a scheduled audit. It was only conjecture, but perhaps the secretary and assistant were staying behind in order to throw the assistant manager under the bus. They would almost certainly would have been paid off, likely through an offshore account that would raise too many red flags to try and find. He decided just to use the still cracked connection to Gordan's link to set his own deck processing his purchase data to look for any odd trends. He also looks for any sort of communication between Wright's wanted friends and the manager.

Playing the angle that this all may be a coincidence, he checks the birthdays of the so far five people involved.

[Mercy]

Saturday 9 June 2075 0140 Titus' Hideout



You are scanning pretty deep into Gordon's commlink but find no direct messages or calls between the branch manager and any of the people on his secretary's IBook friends list. You do find a series of lingerie purchases in a size that does not match his wife's figure and several from a florist that were delivered to an address other than his house. it was while you are looking through this information that he receives a text from Miss Wright. >>Hey, there. I could not sleep. How are you dealing with this new wrinkle?<<

>>I will be alright. We will be alright. Everything is set in Columbia?<<

>>Of course, my love. We will be welcomed with open arms. As long as we have the funds.<<

>>No problem there. Pennywise and Margaret are clueless. We will be in paradise and they will be holding the bag. Chumps.<<

>>Useful chumps, my love.<<

>>Yes, quite useful.<<

>>I need to go. Just wanted to talk. Love to you.<<

The messages stop.

[Unlucky Badger]

Saturday 9 June 2075 0140 Titus' Hideout

Tbyte has the throw a hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle fit as he spies on the conversation being had. The hacker tosses his head back over the chair and lets out a yawn. "You know, this whole group plays out like a really back soap opera trid. Assistant manager sleeping with his boss' wife, his boss doing the secretary...does no one keep it in their pants anymore? I was right though, they're planning to abscond to Colombia with what I can only imagine is quite the sizable account balance. Perhaps unsurprisingly at this point, it's the manager and secretary whole will have to be masquerading as his wife. Gordan says the others are being played, so Pennywise probably thinks he gets to go too or something but the escape seems to definitely be just for two."

[Mercy]

Saturday 9 June 2075 0150 Titus' Hideout


Titus comes out of his office and takes a seat. "Very well done, Tbyte. I am impressed. It does indeed seem to be quite like a soap opera, doesn't it? I wonder if Pennywise and the wife are planning to betray Gordon?" He shakes his head. "Oh well, that is only a help, not a hindrance. So, are you ready to move onto the next test or would you like some rest? There is a rather comfortable bed in the next room, if you like."

[Unlucky Badger]

Tbyte shuts down the deck provided and starts to do a bit of information control before restarting his personal deck. "Normally I'd say let's continue...but I could really use a good night's sleep. So give me about...four hours and we'll start the third test." He walks into the spare room and collapses onto the bed, quite exhausted from a hard day's work. Before falling asleep, he shoots off a quick text to Claus. <<Hey dummy, you might be on your own for dinner tomorrow too but if I'm finished with work early does Shima's Wok sound okay?>>

[Mercy]

Saturday 9 June 2075 0700 Titus' Hideout


Titus lets you sleep a bit more than the four hours. The bed is comfortable and you feel refreshed as you wake up. The aroma of soycaf hangs in the air, as does something else. As you enter the main room, Titus points to a plate of some sort of food. "Not sure what you would want, so just got a Stuffer Shack Scramble for you. The soycaf is good, even if the food is only mediocre. Eat and let me know when you are ready. Do you have any questions about the first two tests? I am limited in what I can say, but I may be able to answer something."

[Unlucky Badger]

Tbyte lets out a yawn and wolfs down the food in a hurry, Spending all day in the Matrix certainly did burn up a lot of energy at least as far as brainpower was concerned. "Nah, all the stuff I tend to be curious about is bad for both of us, so I'll stay right here in mostly ignorance where I belong. But...would you mind if I kept that bug on their commlinks? Kinda wanna know how this soap opera turns out."
He has the feeling whatever the test is for today is going to require quite a bit more work, so he starts tapping on his deck and sets his baby monitor program to run. "Alright so what's the scoop on my third test?"

[Mercy]

Saturday 9 June 2075 0735 Titus' Hideout


Titus smiles at you. "Nice attitude, Tbyte. Alright, we will get right to business then. In your first two tests you have determined that the wife of the branch manager is having an affair with her husbands assistant, while the husband is banging his secretary. Also, there seems to be some sort of embezzlement plan going on where in the manager and the secretary are planning on absconding to Columbia with a lot of money and leaving the wife and the assistant holding the bag. The third test is pretty tough, so please feel free to indicate that you have had enough and want to stop. You are to devise a way to siphon the money from the account of the branch manager before he gets to Columbia, making his arrival there a bit less than welcome. At this point, you are not to make the attempt, just devise the plan. If your plan is accepted, you will be placed with two others to work out a combined plan and then execute it at the appropriate time. Please be as complete as you can and plan out your process to as much detail as possible. Remember that this is simply a mental exercise for now."

[Unlucky Badger]

Tbyte runs a hand through his short but greasy hair. "Oooh boy that's quite a task you've got right there..." He starts tapping on his deck, siphoning through various wiki articles regarding magic, the latest tech innovations from last year's DEFCON. "Alright well the first step is obviously going to be finding out where and how our mark is keeping the money. If he's storing it all in digital rather than a physical media we might have an easier time moving it to the account of your choice. At the same time though, if it's stored as physical media at a lower security bank then with a good team we may just be able to walk right in and replace his credsticks with clever fakes. Guess I'll break down the options into several depending on the storage method of choice...but considering he's fleeing I'd say that credsticks are the most likely."


Scenario 1: Low Security, Digital Storage
"We'll need an infiltrator and a mage. The mage will deal with any guardian spirits that are wandering around while I deal with the small security peripherals that are a bit more secure than their internal network. Infiltrator gets in with our help, geeks the spider and plugs me into their nexus and we do our wire transfer from there. We might be able to cover our tracks if our mage goes with our infiltrator and does his mind mumbo jumbo but that tends to get expensive quick."

Scenario 2: Low Security, Physical Storage.
"The same as above but with the additional need for a skilled safecracker or a couple weeks fooling the system into thinking that our infiltrator is the right guy. The big problem here is gonna be forgery of credsticks, I can do it but it takes a fucking long time...probably longer than we have. So if you know any -really- good forgers then now is the time to bring 'em out from behind door number 2."

Scenario 3: High Security, Digital Storage
"Get me one or two good deckers, an infiltrator, and a mage. Same principle as scenario 1 except we'd likely need to impersonate multiple spiders otherwise we'll be noticed right away the moment we try and make any changes to their Nexus. Guardian Spirits are going to be a real bitch here but one of us impersonating the spider might be able to help the mage and distract the spirits with false alarms or something. Cleaning up our trail is gonna be a real bastard in this case, it'll take time and the longer it takes the more likely someone is to notice weird shit going on."

Scenario 4: High Security, Physical Storage
"Same as 3 with the added addition of absolutely needing copied biometrics on our mark and a safecracker just in case we aren't able to open the vault via the internal net...which hasn't been a thing for about 20 years I think."

Tbyte shrugs. "There's only so much you can plan for when we doing even have the slightest about where he's keeping the money...unless he's really dumb enough to keep it in the bank he works at. You always could just get a couple thugs to grab him from the house, put a car battery to his balls, and force him to transfer the money right then and there...probably the easiest to do but seems like you guys are looking for subtlety."

"Oh..and we obviously need a getaway driver for most of these. Some muscle wouldn't hurt either in case Knight Errant decides to crash the party."

[Mercy]

Saturday 9 June 2075 0745 Titus' Hideout


Titus nods. "Can you find out where the money is going to be kept so as to limit the choices a bit? Do as much research as you need."

[Unlucky Badger]

Saturday 9 June 2075 0745 Titus' Hideout

"Sure can give it a try, hopefully he's just as bad at hiding where he puts it as he is with hiding that he stole it." Tbyte reconfigures his deck for sleaze and devotes probably the better part of the morning to spoofing an account onto Gordan's commlink. Once in, he gives an agent a list of generic banking-related terms to search through while Tbyte himself starts looking through his records and contacts to see if anyone besides his mistress is labeled as someone they are clearly not. If possible, he'd try to log into Gordon's Matrix banking and view any list of charges and transfers from there. "Sure would be nice if it was a literal offshore account, always thought it would be cool to pull a heist from the comfort of a sunny beach."

[Mercy]

Saturday 9 June 2075 1245 Titus' Hideout


You are able to get the file on Gordon's 'link and begin your searches. Some of the information comes quickly and you determine that all of the employees seem to be what the brochure says they are; normal wage slaves earning a living to support their families, to include the secretary. Gordon's banking is through the bank he manages and everything seems to be in order. After double checking the data, you shake your head and something niggles your mind about the secretary.

[Unlucky Badger]

Saturday 9 June 2075 1245 Titus' Hideout
Tbyte frowns, certain that the bank manager wouldn't have been the kind to trust the management and movement of the probably large sums they'd skimmed off the top to be handled by someone else. He couldn't find it after an extensive search so in his mind that meant the data simply didn't exist either on this link or where he thought it did. The next logical step was his secretary, considering she was the one with the weird Colombian friends and the one that arranged the trip. With the same procedure as last time, he set an agent to go about looking for odd transactions on her link while he looked for the more subtle clues, not before shooting a quick text to Claus. <<Sorry, this is gonna be another all day deal. It's take out again for you.>>

[Mercy]

Saturday 9 June 2075 1257 Titus' Hideout


The secretary's 'link is far better protected than the others and you remember that you had noticed that earlier. A gentle probe reveals a very good firewall and you toy with the idea of trying to force it or sneak past it or letting it sit there and go a different route to get information about her. This sort of commlink is certainly better than what a secretary would normally be able to afford.