The Found Arcana - Chapter 9, The last Tarot card Options

[Tecumseh]

Mato looks skeptical.

"I don't think Nightmare would pay us under any circumstances. Why would you pay you enemies, thus strengthening them? No, I think the Halloweeners will use violence. Like Vala said, probably a fire spirit. And if that doesn't work, more fire spirits. If that doesn't work, they'll probably try to hold something hostage. Maybe someone we care about, or maybe SIS HQ. If that doesn't work, Nightmare will let someone else acquire it, then use violence on them.

"Vala said, 'I want you to give his men credible resistance and make them sweat to acquire my card.' So we can't just go straight to Nightmare and ask for cash. If we do, Nightmare will be suspicious, which could cause the whole plot to collapse. No, we need to act like we want anybody but Nightmare to have the card."

He looks to Raven and Tamarind to see if they have input.

"Unless we want to piss off hotel management, and the Finnegans, we'll do the deal elsewhere. If we do it here, we'll have to clear it with the Finnegans, who will want a cut for their exposure. They'll try to wet their beak at every step of the process. We're not here to make friends, but I'd like to make as few enemies as possible."

[Thanee]

"I do like here. It severly limits anyone's options, to come after us. Outside, they can do what they want, and they surely have the strength in numbers. In here, maybe they will refrain from violence altogether, and if they are trying anything, they will have very few options as they cannot even get here with any heavy gear. Most gangers won't even make it to the entrance, considering the neighborhood. I also don't quite get, why it would be our responsibility, if someone else causes trouble in here. But I don't know exactly what the arrangement between Vala and the Finnegans is. Her plan does involve us staying here, though. Also, we are paying twenty-frickin'-kay for this suite, well at least someone is, I would assume that does include some measure of protection."

"As for getting something for the actual card. Maybe there will be an opportunity for a parlay, possibly at a stalemate. Then we could ask for compensation, if we give away the card and thus break our contract, which is supposedly to protect the card, because we won't be paid for the job. That seems believable enough, right?"

[Gilga]

Tara nods in agreement Yes, only here. As magical critters, we are banned from the gambling floors.
Then she watches the social situation helplessly. She seems like she would like to make a claim, but the situation is so alien to her that she wouldn't even know how to get attention in such a discussion. She looks at Mel with distress, and Mel returns a bitter smile. Mel seems to enjoy the entire situation profoundly, but despite that, she is compassionate toward her friend. Come now, Tara, they are not interested. They probably use their spirit slaves to do what we can do. There are other opportunities for us.

Mel winks at Taramind and gestures "call me" before she unmanifest, leaving her feeling of calmness and peace behind. Tara unmanifests shortly after, saying a shy "bye-bye".

In the astral, the five spirits make their preparations to leave. Tara and Xenon wake up their friends from their trance, leaving the suite within a minute or two.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby, once again, just shrugged:
"It's a numbers game. We are offering the card to the highest bidder. Nightmare might try to extort it for free, but we are comparatively save here. If he starts burning the place down, the Finnigans will come after him. The spirit might be crazy enough for a turf war, but I bet Urubia isn't. Not if the card can be purchased by mere money - and not too much of it either.

We just have to appear to be reluctant enough - afterall we offered them to pay wereguild after they bombed you. We can say the offer still stands.
No, Nightmare isn't the real issue - it's all the other players who want to get their hands on it. That's another reason we can't just give it to a patsy. There is no way to make sure it's only Nightmare who gets it and not some Triad pissing off with it on the next flight to Hong Kong."

Bobby acknowledged the passing spirits with just a glance. The more he learned about them, the more he thought of them as parasites - or rather symbionts ready to turn parasitic at a moments notice.

[Beta]

Tamarind had been listening and processing, and finally summarizes to see if she understood the situation properly. She looks at the wall between the others rather than right at them, and keeps her voice dispassionate, trying to not sound too nervous.

"First, Raven please correct me if I'm wrong on this, but for a spirit to search for the card it would need to know either what the card looked like or its aura, and there are enough cards of different types around, especially at a casino, that just looking for a card with pictures on it wouldn't work, and nobody else knows exactly what this card looks like or what its aura is, right? So if people are going to magically find out about it, it is more likely some sort of scrying, or wide area detection spell being run around the city, or a combination of those. Either way they'd likely not know who has the card, just that it is here. But with the magical barriers down now we have to assume that the clock is ticking on that, we have no idea when people might start figuring it out."

"Second, by sending the spirits away we have probably blown up whatever Vala's plan actually was. For better and worse. I didn't like how she was operating, I felt like we could have been a disposable piece in getting the card to Nightmare, she really didn't seem to be trying to create a longer term relationship. So getting rid of her plan may be good? Except that maybe she'd accounted for things that we don't even know about, and we've gotten rid of her planning for those too."

"Third, Nightmare, when you were describing the situation in Redmond you said that it is a spirit, and is in charge of the Halloweeners these days? So it has lots of access to violence but less access to finesse. We could be surprised, but we should expect, and plan for, that. That is we should expect them to act with gross, almost shocking, violence, or the threat of it, or more likely violence with the threat of even more. But the Halloweeners are not likely to do it here."

"All of which brings us to the pros and cons of staying here now. One advantage of staying here is certainly that it may keep the Halloweeners themselves at a distance, although it sounds like you think Nightmare has serious spirit assets too. Anyone else coming to try and steal the card, by subtlety or force, also has to deal with the security here, so that is a general advantage of staying here. Also if we let people know that we are selling it, it lets them know where to find us for any actual offers -- and too bad that we can't just take one of those offers and run! But sadly that is not the case."

"On the disadvantages side of things, everyone knows where to find us. It is a challenge for attackers to get here, but they have time to figure out how, and we are all in one smallish suite. Also while our magic is not really inhibited in here I likely won't be able to operate any armed drones outside of this room -- and even inside this room that depends on smuggling them in -- and Mato is likely more limited on weapons than he'd otherwise be, too." She glances at Mato and adds "Sorry, I'm not really sure what your favourite weapons are."

"If we leave we are maybe easier to find, and don't have the extra security of this fine establishment, but we have mobility so can potentially influence when and how we get engaged by controlling when and where we go and how predictable we make ourselves. I could even shuffle the card around town in drones so that people would need to get a lock on the specific drone with the card to intercept, but of course if they figure that out then taking out one drone is quite easy. Sadly it doesn't sound like SIS has the sort of friends in town that could be relied on to help in a situation this dangerous. So we'd be on our own and so probably more fragile, but could bring more technology to the task, which might be useful against people who think mostly in terms of magic?"

"If we try to leave here too far into the process, we might find our hunters are set up around here and we are blundering into prepared positions. Possibly we could have an exit strategy worked out but there is limited enough access here that I'm not confident that we could get out without being made if anyone is doing half-decent surveillance. Leaving now and then coming back here might work better, because nobody would have reason to expect us to be here, and if they know that it is SIS with the card then they have even less reason to expect that we have this room. Switching things up for a mobile situation to a 'fortress' might buy some time, but it just postpones the pluses and minuses of staying here, and I don't see any particular reason that we would be playing for time."

"Did I miss any other important considerations we should take into account?"

Then her calm demeanour crumples and she finishes off with "I hate sitting here unarmed, with a bullseye right next to me. Whatever we do I really, really, want to get some of my drones, ideally some of the ones with tasers so that I have at least something to do if a fire spirit is trying to burn me alive."

[Gilga]

After perhaps twenty minutes, there is a knock on the door, Tammie is there, along with a short and somewhat humanlike/childlike dwarf, as well as a small flying eye hovering in the background. "Frank Bundy, senior matrix security personal at the Gates. Code name Napoleon, if you are familiar with my work," he says dryly, eyes sizing the room and its new inhabitants. "I understand you had some security-related questions?" he says dryly and almost accusingly. While not rude, he seems to lack Tammie's etiquette and gets down to business.

Tammie stands in the background, about half a meter behind Frank, and seems more restrained and stoic than her previous warm mannerism. She'll say nothing but acknowledge Mato with a soft smile.

[Tecumseh]

Mato nods to Tamarind's consideration.

"Actually, I'm at the advantage here," he says, indicating the hotel. "In selecting my personal enhancements I pursued an 'always armed, always armored' approach that would serve me well in an environment like this.

"But I'm also trying to avoid making enemies with the Gianellis. If there is a substantial or a sustained threat to the establishment, they are going to do the math: it is better for business to protect us and keep the deposit or to boot us out and lose the deposit? And given how expensive this place is, it's not going to take much damage to the establishment to put our defense in the 'unprofitable' column. The hotel will provide a reasonable degree of security, but they're not going to throw down their lives to save us in the name of customer service. They know we are little fish. Yes, 20K makes us little fish in their world."

He thinks about the relative advantages of turtling up here versus bolting like a hare and forcing the rest of the city to catch them.

"I think we're vulnerable here," he says after consideration. "We don't have control over the environment. We're susceptible to softer and more subtle forms of force. I'm more worried about shadowrunners employing social engineering than I am an unending convoy of fire spirits. We'd be putting our trust into everyone in the supply chain here. Not just security but maintenance, house keeping, room service. They could get us by the food we order, by the water in the pipes, by the air that we breathe."

He considers the employees of the hotel and casino.

"I don't even think it would be that hard to turn them against us," he says. "Employees in an environment like this are constantly exposed to wealth and they want it for themselves. If our adversaries find the weakest link in the chain - and they will - it wouldn't be too hard to break them with the carrot-and-stick approach: a healthy chunk of nuyen on one hand versus an angry fire spirit on the others."

He shakes his head. "No, I would prefer to control the environment rather than to pretend that this environment is perfectly controlled."

~~~~~

Mato opens the suite door to find Tammie and Frank.

"Ah, thank you, Ms. Wu.

"Mr. Bundy, thank you for your time. My name is Mr. Torres and these are my associates." He indicates the rest of the room, in case the others wish to introduce themselves.

"As Ms. Wu no doubt conveyed, we are highly security-conscious. It would help to have an understanding of the security measures in places, both to set our minds at ease but also to understand how our own personal efforts might complement them. Between all the criminals and shadowrunners out there, it can be hard to find a moment of peace.

"Mr. Bundy, is your specialty solely Matrix security or are you in a good position to speak to magical and mundane protections as well?"

[Gilga]

Mr. Bundy says, "I am senior enough to detail the combined layers of security and their interplay... but that kind of information is very sensitive and distributed on a need-to-know basis." He sizes Mato up and then says bluntly "... Why do ask about our security?" His voice is correct but you can feel a degree of suspicion. It is possible that he came to ask about you rather than to answer your questions.

[Thanee]

In response to Tamarind, Rachel explains: "A spirit can mostly find what is living, or what is magic. They have a rather hard time finding mundane items. It all works a little different on the astral. And you are absolutely right, that they need an impression for that. But the spirit does not necessarily need to have first-hand knowledge. The summoner can relate that as well."

"As for the here or not here, to me it seems a lot like we would have a little fewer restrictions outside and would be completely on our own, while our adversaries would have a lot fewer restrictions and no casino security to deal with as well as us. Does not sound like a good trade to me at all."

[Tecumseh]

Mato knows the type. He will have to put Mr. Bundy in his place. Mato draws himself up to his full height which, while not very great for an ork, should tower over the childlike dwarf.

"Mr. Bundy," Mato begins sternly, "No more than four weeks ago I was the target of a sophisticated explosive device that nearly cost me my life!"

Mato holds up four black metal fingers of his right hand. This is a somewhat theatrical maneuver to imply that the cyberhand was the result of the bombing.

"Having recently recovered, I would like to avoid a repeat of the experience! My associates and I are not at the Gates Casino for the luxurious accommodations. We are here for your security so that we may conduct our business in peace! We are not paying ¥3,000 day to be patted on the head and told that we don't need the answers to the questions we ask!"

Mato dials up his new Infrasonic Generator to generate an additional chord of discomfort to further intimidate Mr. Bundy.

"Now I would appreciate it if you, as the senior matrix security personnel, would outline the measures that the Gates Casino is taking to protect our privacy and security! If we are not satisfied with the answers then we will kindly take our business elsewhere!"

Mato perhaps feels bad if he intimidates Ms. Wu, but that's collateral damage. He'll use honeyed words with some and acidic words with others.

[Jack_Spade]

"Cause we need security." Bobby added redundantly from the couch, where he had lain down.
"We are here for a sensitive business deal - an online auction if you will - and would prefer if we didn't have to fend of would be thieves or robbers. That's why we are giving you a heads-up."

[Gilga]

Mr. Bundy backs down a bit "Okay okay, you need to know, I get it. Yet, what kind of threats are you worried about?"

[ Spoiler ]

He had 5 hits in the resist roll - so the suit does the magic.

[Tecumseh]

Mato, satisfied, relaxes his posture. He dials down his Infrasonic Generator before finally turning it off. He resumes a more neutral tone, more factual and less aggressive.

"Very good.

"We're not interested in the specifics, like the exact placements of your cameras and sensors. We want to know what measures you have in place for a variety of contingencies.

"For example, how would you handle a large-scale incursion by a thrill gang, like the 405 Hellhounds?" Mato avoids mentioning the Halloweeners. He almost mentioned the Leather Devils before remembering that they do a lot of work for the Mafia.

"On the other end of the scale, how do you deter shadowrunners and those using more subtle forms of force, like social engineering? How do you avoid not only infiltration, but also the corruption of your workforce?"

Mato isn't sure that they're going to use any of this information, especially if they relocate, but as long as Mato has his puppet on strings he might as well make him dance.

[Gilga]

The dwarf shrugs "I cannot disclose the exact placement of security measures, but I can outline the general deployment. Our security works in layers; physical security is devised into three layers the first one is the obvious security, which we have in abundance. They are mainly there to deter people from trying anything and to handle low-level threats. We also have disguised security which blends in with the patrons and interferes only if we need them. These are highly trained in body language identification, and they usually spot the troublemakers before they make trouble. As the nuclear option, all our agents carry select combat drugs that can be manually triggered at their discretion. It is very rare to use these drugs, but we keep them in insulated containers just in case.


The third layer of security is a team of shadowrunners - fight fire with fire, sort of speaking. These are ex-criminals that have had their fair share of breaking and entering. We use them to identify other teams and handle threats that the first two layers failed to handle. They work independently of our other security measures but are always nearby.

The guest floors are also secured with drones which can be activated automatically in specific scenarios or triggered by us if we suspect anything unusual. We keep them in standby mode with sensors disabled at normal times to preserve the privacy of our guests. We keep multiple quality riggers at a secure location and do not rely on autopilot software - if anything gets passed our security, we assume that autopilot would not be enough. This also implies that we always have a physician capable of operating a humanoid drone and giving professional treatment to anyone wounded. We have an excellent matrix service here and are directly connected to some of the important hubs in the city. We also have a well-equipped clinic and a nurse at all times.

As for matrix security, we use high-quality equipment and plenty of sensors with autonomous agent programs to monitor them and a spider active at all times to prevent hacking and vandalism. Our third layer security has an actual decker if it gets too sneaky, but the rest of us are pretty good. We monitor any matrix-connected device that enters the casino for unusual activity and raise silent alarms when unauthorized devices come online. We are equipped to disable any matrix-connected device in case of suspected breaking, and we keep enough firepower to do so in a short time. :

Magical security is based on free spirits, we keep four at the casino mainly to handle other spirits, as well as dual natured guests. We have a cache of alchemical preparations used for emergencies to level the playing field against magical threats and a resident sorcerer at peak hours.
All our guards are trained in identifying magic, and a few of them have spirit pacts to handle magical threats better.


As for your questions, anything outside the casino is handled by the police. That includes gangs, drunks, and bums. Inside the casino, we have a large number of guards so they'll have to bring a small army to rob us by brute force. Our security is not aligned to deal with armies but we can improvise - it never happened until now.

For shadowrunners, we trust that our two layers of security would challenge them enough to make a mistake and be identified. Then if they are too much for our guards we have our own team with a home-court advantage and more support. Nothing is perfect, but they'll need to be very good and very expensive to steal from us.

As for corrupted personnel, it is always possible and always the weakest link of any system. Our matrix security can help there, but we do not actively monitor the comlinks of personnel without first suspecting them. We have some serious people verifying everyone working for us, it is not strictly a background check, but we choose them as loyal as we can.

You need to understand, Mr. Torres, that security is a matter of handling risks cost-effectively. We do not seek to be immune or perfect - we seek to reach a degree of security where robbing us costs more resources than it is worth. We have a lot of security because we handle a lot of money. If you are not safe with us, you'll need a lot of money for bodyguards. We are more secure than any other hotel room in the city. "

[Tecumseh]

Mato nods curtly. "Yes, very good then, Mr. Bundy.

"As my colleague here said" - he indicates Bobby - "we are conducting delicate business. We expect to conclude the deal this week and we require every effort to minimize possible disruptions. You constant vigilance is appreciated."

Mato looks to Bobby, Tamarind, and Raven to see if they have additional questions or concerns. Mato doesn't have the expertise to ask piercing questions about magical or Matrix countermeasures.

[Jack_Spade]

"Very impressive. So, were you aware that there were five free spirits in this room a few minutes ago?" Bobby asked, still not getting up from the couch.
"Because we were somewhat surprised by that fact."

[Gilga]

The dwarf relaxes and comments to Bobby, "Yes, the thrills of a casino make for pleasant grounds for free spirits, and we welcome them to stay here as long as they behave and pay for their stay one way or another. We are very flexible on the terms, but this is, at the end of the day, where our magical security comes from. "


He then sighs and speaks reluctantly as if approaching an unpleasant topic "Look, it is one thing to lay low in here, and it is another to engage in business activity and especially the kind that invites troubles. I am afraid you would need to speak with my superiors about it to see if they can stomach the kind of trouble you have. I can arrange a meeting with Tony on that issue."

[Jack_Spade]

"Yeah, that's why we are asking. Our customer, who rented this place should have done so already, but we learned a bit too late that they were rather lax in their information policies."
Bobby replied deadpan.

[Tecumseh]

"Make it so," Mato says decisively, even a bit brusquely. "If you are not a person in a decision-making capacity then we wish to speak with someone who is."

Mato continues to lean on Mr. Bundy (and, indirectly, Ms. Wu) using the remnants of his prior browbeating.

"We are paying customers and expect to be treated as such. We're conducting private meetings, not a public bazaar. Out of professional courtesy, we are alerting you that outside parties may wish to disrupt these negotiations. This is no different than any other wealthy patron who might reasonably be the target of shadowrunners or other professional criminals.

"If you or your superiors do not agree that private meetings are a reasonable course of business, then you should refund our deposit so that we may take our dealings to a more secure environment, perhaps an establishment that has confidence in its capabilities."

Mato would be satisfied with this outcome, but he lets a hint of scorn slip into his voice to maintain the upper hand socially with Mr. Bundy.

[Gilga]

Mr. Bundy says in surprising humility, "As you said, I am not the one calling the shots in your manner. " he says, he pauses and then suggests "Ms. Woo can you schedule these gentlemen a meeting with Tony, please. I'll text him the background information. " he says then to Mato and Bobby "Is there anything else I can do for you?" There is no hostility in the voice, perhaps respect or practicality.

Tammie nods in agreement, relieved they'll be out of there soon.

[Tecumseh]

Mato nods, satisfied at this for a next step. "Thank you, Mr. Bundy."

He tries to give a softer, less intimidating look to Tammie. "And you as well, Ms. Wu. We appreciate your time and attention."

[Beta]

Let the talky people do the talking. Let the talky people do the talking. Let the talky people do the talking. Tamarind keeps reminding herself. But then she reaches for Beauty to comfort herself but Beauty isn't there and she almost blurts something out, but then she reminds herself again.

But then the dwarf is about to leave and with it the chance to ask, so in the end she does just blurt out her question. "Is it OK for me to bring in a small personal drone or three? I miss my Beauty -- she isn't very big, just a pigeon, a chrome pigeon, no mess because she's chrome not meat. I didn't bring anything in at first because I didn't want to stress out your security. But if we are staying for a while I'd like to have something with me."

[Gilga]

Tammie responds to Tamarind feeling more in her element than a discussion about security. You can bring unarmed drones here, but they are not allowed on casino floors."

[Gilga]

After about an hour, you get a text message From Ms. Wu saying >> Tony can meet you at 14:00. Shall I schedule the meeting? It is late morning, and you'll have time for launch and logistics before that.

Tony meets you in the basement. Tammie escorts you to the elevator and then silently to a room with no label in a hallway of six near-identical rooms. The rooms all have armored doors, and the whole place astrally stinks of powerful emotions. Many of them include pain and misery, but not all. It is a confusing place with a high negative background count. The meeting is in one of the cramped rooms, which is soundproof with no windows, and the only furniture is plastic chairs. You do not spot any cameras or modern technology. That place seems as off-grid as it gets. Matrix reception is almost nonexistent, and the walls are astrally solid; even the walls of the rooms and space where the door is, are warded with very potent wards (F12).

Matrix is almost impossible inside the room (noise 12) and perhaps utterly incomprehensible if you close the doors. The room is immaculate but dull and greyish white without anything to look up to aside from the unremarkable man who presents himself as "Tony." Tony is a slim man, looking perhaps sixty, with grey, white neatly cut hair, a plain t-shirt, and blue jeans. Tony remains silent for a while as he surveys his newcomer he remains silent for a while. "Welcome to my castle. May you always come here willingly," he says quietly, which is enough as the place is silent.

[Tecumseh]

<<Yes, very good, thank you>> Mato responds to Tammie.

"Meeting is at 14:00," he tells the others. "We have time for lunch first.

"I read that they have the best pecan pie here. The mix in cacao nibs, which help cut the sweetness. Then they add a dollop of bourbon Chantilly crème."

Mato's lunch is steak and eggs. He has the pecan pie for dessert, along with a cup of real coffee. He isn't saying that it's his last meal, but maybe he's thinking it.

"I'll go," he offers. "Anyone else can join if they want to.

"I knew this club owner once. Short, half bald, what hair he did have was slicked back. He had two huge hoop earrings in his left ear and he smoked cigars as fat as a troll's finger. He told me, 'Sure, I done a little biz with the Yaks. Everybody does. It's part of the cost of staying in business.'"

Mato sighs.

"At that point of my life, I thought it was so strange, how casual he could be about it. He said it the same way you'd talk about your alcohol distributor or your DJ. Now?" Mato shrugs. "I suppose it is inevitable, once you ascend to a certain height... or descend to a certain depth."

~~~

That notion seems to foreshadow the meeting's location.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Tony," Mato says with only a hint of irony. "My name is Mato. I appreciate your time."

Mato considers the slim, older man. Perhaps the man has so many anchored spells that he's invulnerable, but he looks rather fragile. But therein lies the danger. Being made means protection and respect. Everybody on the streets knows that if you mess with a made man, you mess with his family. If a non-mafioso kills a made man, they will have their revenge. That’s what it means to be made: the promise of death to them who killed you.

"I presume Ms. Wu and Mr. Bundy alerted you to our concerns. We are security-minded guests and we are at the Gates specifically for the security that it provides. Out of professional courtesy, we are alerting you that outside parties may wish to disrupt our time here. I presume this is common among many of your guests, is it not? So it is always in the halls of wealth and power."