Into The Chaos - Chapter 2, A banshee at The Banshee? Options

[Gilga]

The next month is quite for you but full of chaos and scandals for Seattle. You are satisfied, Strawberry purchases the farm at the agreed price and pays your your agreed shares, a big payday followed by a big and well publicized legal trial exposing a massive conspiracy.
Allegedly, the UCAS government had a big plan of putting vampirism under control. New and genetically engineered pixies to replace human victims. A food item so addictive that once a vampire had enough of them it is difficult to switch back to metahumans. Perhaps, the plan was to gradually subjugate this vermin on society and benefit from its magic. There are even rumors on cooperates breeding vampires to exploit their magic justifying this foul play with a supply of pixies. Wheely’s client list indeed supports that rumour, by showing that Horizon were consumers of the farm’s pixies.

At any case, that plan could not continue, while pixies are not recognized as sapient critters by the UCAS government, they are generally accepted as such by the public. With the EVO cooperation strongly rooting for their inclusion in society. No politician could publically support the project, or face the allegations of breeding vampires as part of a magical arms race. The weeks pass and routine leaks of sensitive information tying numerous politicians and corporate entities to this scandal leads the government to ‘freeze’ the plan to explore its moral implications. You did good, made a splash in the pool of city and perhaps statewide affairs. Unfortunately, this makes you quite popular in the shadow community where you continually denying your involvement but some of you have styles which are too distinctive to deny it.

So, Pixies are people. This seems to be the populist trend and perhaps they will be accepted to the UCAS society partly thanks to you. Regardless of the validity of cooperations breeding vampires - there seem to be a larger number of them roaming around. People are terrified to go outside and more and more vampire related crimes are reported. Perhaps some of these got set free, perhaps with their food supply gone these are hungry souls with no alternative. At any case, few people would leave their houses at night in the less secure areas of the city.

Bellevue is one part of Seattle where the party did not stop, Lone Star are patrolling the streets, drones and street cams record anything that happens in the streets and the rich and more fortunate citizens of Seattle can continue their life ignoring the evils that plague other parts of the city. It is a gated community, a bastion of good life in a otherwise gang infested city. It is also a Mafia influenced territory, specifically ruled from the Gates casino, Bellevue generally pays protection to Dame Valentina. Which is why you are not surprised to get a text from Casa, troubles at Bellevue cannot be good for business.

Casa: [All] >> I am setting up a team to investigate a crime - if you are still in the biz give me a buzz.

[Jack_Spade]

Kynos had spent the last few days in relative comfort and agony. As soon as the money had arrived (and he had filed his taxes) he had contacted the cyber clinic. A few of his cybernetic enhancements had been outdated even when he had gotten them implanted and only his resilient nature (or stubbornness) had prevented his spirit from vacating his body. Exchanging the stuff for current, basic versions had meant staying three days at the place, constantly being operated on. He had even splurged on some new upgrades, now that the strain on his body was a bit lessened: A sleep regulator and a genetic improvement of his eyes.
He had once again a Growler, so he didn't need to mountain-bike everywhere. More important, he had invested in a watertight new identity and cashed in on some long term investments (mostly alimony checks that his ex-wife had refused) and bought a nice little cottage at the far edge of Snohomish. The investment was tight, but Ryan assured him that as long as he didn't use the new identity for anything else, but peacefully living there, all expenses would be payed and the drones would keep his fridge filled.

That of course necessitated, that he kept another place in the city where he could keep his illegal equipment. Another bolt hole, just like the one he had used with the team (but of course somewhere different and not where anyone else knew about) was his base of operation now, when Casa's call came in.

Regarding the severely reduced number on his cred stick he replied: <<Getting our own intel for once? Sounds good. Where, when?>>

[Gilga]

@Kynos Casa replies

>>Tomorrow, 10:00 am at the Banshee. The place is closed but the service entrance is open for you.

[Ennui]

An alarm chimes and I stop immediately and close my eyes. I have been doing this for a month now. My comlink chimes at a random time two or three times a day, at which point I repeat this same process. I recreate the last thing I saw, the movement of the people, predict where they are going and what they are doing. A man in the alley across the street to my right grooving to an unknown melody. The stains on his clothes and the crusted saliva in the corners of his mouth indicate a high probability of some form of drug use. Who is using AR and who isn't. One woman, talking angrily to herself, (her clothes are nice so she's probably not having a psychotic break) is obvious. The man with the gloves making subtle hand motions is probably in AR as well. The large man in a hoodie to my left watches the crowd peering from within its shadow, a bulge in the front pouch just a bit too large for the hands, indicates a weapon. This one is on the hunt and I probably appear to be a juicy target standing there with my eyes closed. I turn my head toward him and open my eyes meeting his gaze. Sure enough I see the gun on his PAN. I watch him emotionlessly for a moment until he backs down...I brick his gun for good measure.

My com chimes. Again? That was fast. Ah, it's Casa. I ring him to let him know I'm in.

[Gilga]

@Irris Casa seems content that you are in, and invites you to the Banshee at 10:00 am, the place is closed but the workers will let you in through the service entry.

[Imladir]

When she gets the message, Nyx hesitates for a while before answering. She doesn't really need the money, since she doesn't spend much. No implants, no fancy weapons or armours... She's been considering getting for some time now getting another Qi focus, but hasn't done so yet. So as far as money is concerned, she can afford to pass on the offer. But...there are other considerations. Most of those could be found at the Gates. Not that she really thought she couldn't afford to refuse, but...

>>Casa [Nyx]: My agenda is pretty free at the moment. Mostly anyway. So...<<

[Gilga]

@Nyx Casa texts - >>Be there this morning... 10 am. Enter through service access place is closed.

[Imladir]

>>Casa [Nyx]: 10? Ok, I'll be there.<< Nyx took a moment to think about the exchange, then shook her head. Whatever that was about, she would find out in the morning.

The next morning, Nyx went the agreed upon place, wearing black pants and a white blouse, nothing too sophisticated, but neither was it too casual. She looked for the service entrance for a couple of minutes then when she got there asked for Casa.

[Gilga]

@Nyx the first thing to catch your attention is two well-armed guards guarding the entrance. The two guards wear somewhat stylish but very expensive ballistic business suits with an underlying elastic material that covers most of their exposed skin and a matching helmet. They are armed with pistols, but these also seem more sophisticated than the ones you usually see. These people seem somewhat more than Mafia goons or hired questionable security that most places at the Barren's edge would hire. Once inside, you can see that several of the clerks are well at work cleaning up what appears to be the remainders of some very large bar fight. Casa seats in a table and is actually the only one seating in that place. The rest are busy as a bee, you are the first to arrive.

[Jack_Spade]

Kynos showed up only slightly after Nyx. He had dressed in his good ballistic suit too, carrying his guardian in its holster as well as his taser. With a cheery wave he walked past the security.
When he saw Casa and Nyx he nodded politely, took a seat and waited. He was pretty sure whatever he'd say to Nyx, it would be the wrong thing.
Instead he picked up a broken bottle and looked fascinated at the bloody edges while he twirled the object in his fingers.

[Imladir]

As she walked to the table where Casa was seated, Nyx observed curiously the scene, intrigued. She had no particular skills in this type of things - and had never been a part of a bar fight - so she wasn't able to draw many conclusions, except for the fact that whatever happened, it must have been one hell of a fight. And probably pretty entertaining to watch. From the sidelines anyway.

She sat down in front of Casa and nodded "Good morning." She cocked an eyebrow "I suppose all of that happened in the night so has no link to whatever you'd want me to work on?" Before Casa can answer though, she spotted Kynos, and frowned "Oh. So it's one of those jobs, eh?" She sighed.

After a small pause, she nodded in Kynos' direction "Hi." While not exactly the most enthusiastic greeting ever, it was fairly neutral.

[Gilga]

Casa smiles softly at the sight of Nyx, "Good morning" he said and then nods at Kynos. Casa replied after Kynos joined them "Well... you are here because this work requires a bit extra than just beating someone senselessly. There was this dude drinking, flirting dancing and then suddenly beating people senselessly with the skill of a trained martial artist. He seemed to completely ignore pain and took an amount of beating that would take down an elephant to finally be subdued.

He was interrogated by the best the Finnigans had to offer and nothing, the person does not remember anything about the attack. The thing is, this entire fight was a distraction, at the same time I lost an asset just before signing an album deal. I want to know who dares extracts from me and casually trashes a Finnigan business. I want the singer back in a good shape, and the Finnigans wants to know who is behind this attack to make an example out of them."

[Imladir]

Nyx listened quietly, then sighed "So, I suppose there are two possible explanation… Compatible with one another probably. Drugs… or magic." She glanced at Kynos then back at Casa "Which means you called Maxwell too?" She didn't seem pleased by that. At all. She shook her head "There aren't that many organizations would do something like that. Corporations, through runners probably. Or other groups like the Vory, the Triads, etc." She paused slightly then added "Without knowing more than that, I'd say the most likely at this point is either the Yaks or the Cartel. They both have reasons to want to get even after all."

[Jack_Spade]

"Sounds like the work of a possessing spirit - and a rather powerful one at that." Kynos voice sounded raspy - more raspy then usual - as if he hadn't spoken in a month.
"Having Sovereign join the party would at least make looking for the extracted person easier.
But just in case this calls for classic detective work: Who did you lose? And please give us the complete story - age, gender, looks, skills, priors, etc.
Also, did you have a spell slinger or some other dual natured person take a look at the astral? If it was a possessing spirit it should have left a signature and maybe a trail to its conjurer.

Now, I know one sorcerers who likes to possess people - and so do you: Have you already checked if Strawberry is behind that? Don't know what she'd do with an artist or musician, but then I never claimed to understand how her thought process works - or that of any woman."

[Gilga]

Casa frowned "Well, I'll tell you what you need to know. Rita's agent is a gambler... to pay off his gambler debt he needed Rita to sign the new contract, but the meeting was delayed and so I happened to own his management agreement. Rita did not like the swap one bit - though she really is better off like that.

Now - the Banshee pays protection to the Finnigans and they are furious about some would be runners pissing in their pool. With their current weakness in soldiers and equipment, their council decided on a biblical response. You do not need an army if everybody thinks you are crazy. So they want to capture the runners, find up who hired them and waste them.

I personally just want Rita to sign her contract, collect my 50 percent and hand her over to the life she expects. Needless to say, this extraction made my own role in this story very unprofitable and I hope this can be changed. Right now, we are only interested in the two of you. However, if Rita is still alive and if you can gear up for an extraction, we can hire a full team to minimize risk. "


He looked at Kynos and then at Nyx and sighed "Question asked, Can the two of you work together?"

[Jack_Spade]

"I've never let personal issues stand in the way of a paycheck. At least not on such a relatively benign mission.

Still, what does Rita look like? Is it possible that she paid for her own extraction? Does she have Shadow contacts? And if you don't know, where can we find her former agent?
Likewise, are their any recordings of her extraction? Any hints at all who and how she was taken away?

Also: What are you offering for this recon mission?"
Kynos replied.

[Gilga]

Casa places the brochure of a show performed by Ritalin a few days ago on the table. "As you can see they pretend to be vampires... Very fashionable in the metal scene." He allowed a shrug out and said "Kids...".

Casa looked pensive "Self-extraction... well she has a financial motive but does she have the connections to orchestrate something like that? I honestly do not know I never met her personally. I just offered a deal to a desperate gambler looking to keep his kneecaps. I planned to offload the singer and make a little profit."

[Ennui]

I arrive at the scene but while on time it appears the party has started without me. I wave to Nyx and Kynos and take a seat, I guess being on time is late these days. What did I miss? I say glancing at the brochure.

[Jack_Spade]

"Sorry, Casa seemed to think you wouldn't come. Glad you could make it. As for what's going on:
Rising music star got snatched away from Casa, while a guy thrashed this place as a distraction - likely possessed. Wants us to find her and ideally the people who took her. Afterwards there is to be made an example out of the runners as a show of strength.
I'm currently trying to get Casa to answer my questions. But apparently I need to ask them slower, with less syllables and in a clearer voice:

What. Will. You. Pay. Us. To. Find. Her?

How. Can. We. Find. The. Agent?

Has. A. Mage. Looked. At. This. Place?

And most important of all:

WHAT WILL. YOU. PAY. US. TO. FIND. HER?"

Kynos replied.

[Gilga]

Casa chuckled - "I am not paying you anything to find her, but if you find her alive I'll pay you to extract her.
Finnigans are paying you to find out who pissed in their pool - with priority to the Jhonson behind this operation. About mojo, Finnigans have a mage now thanks to you - she looked at the place you'll have to ask her.
They pay 5k each for the investigation and can pay more for the make an example part if you guys are interested in that kind of job. The agent? Either follow the casinos in town or just call him... and chill out Kynos - I always made sure that you guys are well paid. "

[Jack_Spade]

"Alright, so 5000 to find her and each maiming and extracting as a separate job. Sounds alright."
He turned to Nyx: "Are you interested in talking to Strawberry? Because it probably wouldn't be a good idea if I tried to talk to her. Provided you are on board with this mission.
In that case I'll go for the agent."

[Ennui]

So how much are you paying for the maiming and extracting part?

[Gilga]

Casa paused "That depends on who needs to be harmed... Perhaps another 5k if you want to close in advance."

[Gilga]

"Your first focus is on understanding what happened and who is behind it all. Then you get a second job if you like - to retaliate, but that depends on what you find on the first job and what exactly the Horse has in mind." asked Casa.

[Jack_Spade]

"We'll have to renegotiate about that last part, but I'm down for the first part.
Right, so Irris, you are a fair hand with a deck. Can you hack and track that agent's commlink? I'd like to chat with him in person."

Kynos replied.