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

[Tecumseh]

Mato is relieved to have the easy out. There had been a moment of concern that Tony would lean on them to use the basement, and thus owe Tony a favor. Mato wants to be in the hotel but he absolutely does not want to be in Tony's pocket. He readily accepts the invitation to return to the elevator.

Mato doesn't speak Italian but "in bocca al lupo" is so close to what the Spanish would be ("en la boca del lobo") that he turns to see if Tony is trying to intimidate them.

<<I don't know Italian but in Spanish that would be something like "into the wolf's mouth". Can't say I like the sound of it. What do you make of that?>> Mato doesn't know that it's a colloquial expression.

<<No, not really>> he responds to Bobby's question about better ideas. <<So I'd vote for in the suite without it.>>

There's a part of Mato that really wants to keep the card in sight, or at least on hand, at all times. Just take it, slot it into a smuggling compartment, and take off running. Get into the Cascades, dig a cave in the late-winter snow, and hide.

But, logically, when he holds that approach up to the notion of a safe deposit box, he must admit that the card is likely the more secure with the bank. For some reason that digs at his pride, even though it shouldn't. I'm as secure as a vault, aren't I? he asks himself. Better, even: I'm mobile. But I suppose there are more people dedicated to keeping the vault safe. And if someone stages a heist? Well I guess we'll just have to steal it right back.

[Jack_Spade]

"Alright, we are agreed - we want the suite as originally planned and we'll make sure that the card won't be causing issues."

Bobby replied after a pretty awkward silence. "Thanks for your time."

<<Mato and I have official SINs, so we can rather easily get a safe deposit. But since we'll be carrying the card outside the wards, it's probably a good idea if we all go together.>>

[Gilga]

Tony stays in the basement, where he met the team. The team goes into the elevator. The ride is eventless, but Mato feels a bit uneasy. Either the card gets to him, or perhaps the situation was troubling. It is probably nothing... is it? When the elevator arrives, Tammie greets them. "Did the meeting go well?" she asks politely but does not wait for an answer. "Is there anything I can do for you? There is a very nice stand-up show tonight if."

[ Spoiler ]

Perception threshold 3 for Mato to take notice of the feeling.

[Jack_Spade]

"Later, we got some errants to run, but we should be back in a few hours." Bobby replied, while at the same time looking for an affordable safe deposit contract.

[Beta]

Tamarind suggested "We should be able to find a clear plastic box of the right size to hold the card, shops use them for moderately valuable things on display at time, we should be able to get one that locks in some way. Ideally one with a second compartment that is opaque, or which at least we can line with something opaque -- for the same reason that stores do, to put a tracker in where it isn't as visible. Not like anyone getting the box won't guess, but possibly not right away. Just one more chance to track if someone does get it away and we need to track it down. Fagin should be able to get something like that to us quickly enough. A small possible security leak -- we bought something that is about the right size for a card -- but I don't think her recirculates information particularly quickly."

"And while it is likely that nobody is tracing us yet, cameras and records exist. Maybe we call in a couple of rental vans, then have them head out on likely routes the same time that we head out, maybe we even take on of the rentals, and take care to not be easily traceable to the bank in case anyone has a hacker with access to gridguide records or who is just good with cameras. "

She also has a real SIN, but she doesn't like to draw attention to it, and Bobby has already offered his or Mato's for registering for a safety deposit box, so she doesn't bother mentioning it.

[Thanee]

"I can also make people invisible or look like someone else," Rachel offers. "That should make tracing our steps with cameras a bit harder."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby shrugged: "We can do that, but honestly I just planned to open a safe deposit at three banks and visit five. Our opposition might be able to hit one bank at short notice, but I doubt, they can manage three."

[Thanee]

"That reminds me, can't they find the card by magical means? That is something we need to consider as well."

[Jack_Spade]

"That's why I looked for shielded deposits. Banks have measures against spirits popping up inside. And shapechangers."

Bobby sounded as if he had intimate knowledge about that.

[Tecumseh]

Mato does feel uneasy. He had not enjoyed the tour of the murderbasement. Was it just the background count - strong enough to seem into his highly mundane self - or was it the discussion with Tony? The mention of a favor puts him slightly out-of-sorts.

Or was it just indigestion? He had a rich lunch of steak and eggs and pecan pie. He was an ork, yes, and orks are famous for eating snakes and hurlg and crazy spice, but maybe he's feeling the effect of a a bunch of calorie-dense foods that his body isn't accustomed to.

Tammie greets them and asks if she can do anything.

"Thank you for arranging the meeting, Ms. Wu," he says. "It was most illuminating.

"May I trouble you to have the kitchen send up some licorice root tea, please? Or, failing that, ginger tea. I fear that I overextended myself at lunch. I would be most indebted, thank you."

Once they have some privacy, he offers feedback on what he's hearing.

"I like the tracer idea," he tells Tamarind, dabbing some perspiration off his forehead with a handkerchief. "That would help set my mind at ease about not having the card on-hand. But is there a way to protect the tracer so that it cannot be easily detected or disabled?

"And multiple safe deposit boxes are a good idea too," he tells Bobby. "We should put something in each of them. Dummies, decoys.

"I had some sports cards when I was a kid, like 11, 12 years old. You can get a hard plastic case that holds a card. The fancy ones will close with four screws, one at each corner. A bit of overkill but looks impressive. It gives the impression of security. They're only about 5 nuyen each. You can also get them with magnets, or even just a clear plastic case that's similar to what the Japanacorpers use to hold their business cards." The business cards were an anachronism, but sometimes etiquette persists long after the practical applications of something have expired.

"I'm not worried about spirits. Even if they can pop up inside a vault, that doesn't mean they can get out. At least, not with the card. They'll have to walk out the vault door, just like the rest of us."

Mato wipes his forehead again.

"I need a moment before we go to the bank," he tells Bobby. "Let me take my jacket off. Something isn't sitting well with me. Either the lunch or that meeting with Tony."

[Jack_Spade]

"Spirit search is restricted to thinks you know i.e. have seen or gotten a good description. As long as we don't send around images, it should be relatively hard to find. By the way, that would be one way to make sure Nightmare gets it's grubby burning fingers on it - only give him the real image of the card.

Right, let's get moving to find such a case. Tamarind, I gather you can modify it with trackers. I'll lend you a hand - I need to polish up on that hardware stuff again."

As Mato looked ill, Bobby took a discreet look at his aura. Despite the glaring black essence holes, he was able to see some of the influcences there at work.

"We should prioritize getting that card away from you. I don't like the look of this."

[Tecumseh]

Back at the suite, Mato gets his jacket and his tie off. He still looks a bit breathless, despite the lack of physical exertion. He sits on the edge of one of the beds and looks up to Bobby, who is studying him on the astral.

"I have a chill. But not like I'm cold; if anything I'm sweatting. But it's like a tingling, wintry feeling."

A thought occurs to him.

"Back at home" - his tone makes it clear he's talking about Sioux Nation - "I used to hire retired Wildcats for lessons. Shooting, stealth, Okichitaw, all that. Weekend warrior stuff, at that point I didn't even know that I would ever use it; it was just for fun. One of them - big bloke, name of Šá, built like a rectangle, severe, no sense of humor - said that this feeling was the sign of an astral intruder, or the feeling of an astral form passing through yours. I had a laugh at the absurdity of it but he was deadly serious.

"Did they ever teach you that in the SDF? Or, no, why bother because you could just see for yourself."

Mato looks down and shakes his head.

"I think the Anglo expression is 'someone walked over my grave'." As if to emphasize the point, he gives an involuntary shudder. He looks up again to see Bobby's verdict, then over to Raven for a second opinion.

[Jack_Spade]

"They actually did. Had to teach myself how to see the astral. Still, that's not a good sign. Something is already drawn to the card. We need to get going and get it back behind wards."
Bobby indicated to the door: "Let's get in the car. Spirits generally have a problem to materialize in a moving vehicle."

[Beta]

"Great, let's go. I'll tell the van to prepare itself. We can stick the card in its hidden compartment, so it isn't on someone but isn't in the open."

She took a quick look around to make sure she had everything, then started heading towards her vehicle and the drones inside it. After two steps however she stopped. She shot a quick glance back and asked Mato or Bobby (it wasn't too clear) "You need any help?"

[Tecumseh]

Mato pulls himself to his feet, and then gets his jacket back on with an awkward motion very unlike his silky-smooth cyberlimbs.

"Keep an eye on me," he tells Tamarind. "If I take off, reel me in. Gently, if possible."

He heads to the van without his tea.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby's first address was Ares Savings and Loan. With the required pitstop at the hobby shop, he decided that this bank would be only used as a decoy holder.

"Alright, I'll front the cash for the safe deposit box. Give me one of the empty cardholders. 60 Nuyen for half a year according to their matrix page. Mato you better accompany me, so we can establish a pattern."

[Tecumseh]

Mato gets to the van and slumps in the back. He pops open his smuggling compartment and accesses it through a subtle slit in his slacks. He produces the card, which he passes to Tamarind to place it in the van's hidden compartment.

Then he feels... the same? He's unsure but more may be revealed over the course of the drive. Of course, it could just be indigestion.

He nods to Bobby, "Sounds good.

"Banks often prefer to offer safe deposit boxes to further an existing relationship so we might get declined if we don't have an account there.

"My new accounts" (you presume he means his trust fund) "are through BANCOMEX." That's Aztechnology's subsidiary. "They should be able to open one for me.

"SIS' accounts are through Metabank." This is Evo's subsidiary.

[Jack_Spade]

"Yeah, Savings and Loans is actually the bank where I maintain my account. Got a nice Ares Predator for opening it. Sadly had to sell it a few years ago."

Bobby got out, and headed for the entrance, carrying the fake card box with him.

[Gilga]

The streets are busy and crowded as people go about their day. You can spot a gang of several motorists with anti-metahuman symbols on their fancy jackets. They are armed but do not seem to attract attention from the police. They eye Mato with hostility as he enters the bank and, by association, the rest of you.

The bank itself has two tiers public banking, which appears more like a sluggish service, and private or business banking on the second floor with an entirely different service level. You would have to choose what kind of service are you shooting for.

[Thanee]

Rachel will stay in the van. They said that it would be beneficial, if their adversaries would not know them, that is Tamarind and Raven, belonging to SIS, which might give them some additional options at some point, so it makes sense not to be seen together too much.

She has been using her astral sight to make sure nothing weird happens with the card, they are carrying, without them noticing.

[Gilga]

Watching the card seems a bit of a chore, considering it is out of physical sight, in the smuggling compartment of the car. It is completely possible with a bit of projection, and so she closes her eyes and watches the card. It has a vibrant but completely mundane aura, and seems static or dormant most of the time, but then after watching it for half an hour or so - it suddenly sends out a weak astral entity kin to a watcher spirit. Rachel has seen a similar technique at SIS - a creepy drawing containing a watcher spirit keeping security in one of the rooms. AM actually avoids looking at that painting.

The watcher is shaped as multiple elongated tendrils that form a large flower with complex and vibrant patterns in various directions. It is beautiful but also very obvious to anything with astral eyes. Of course, the card is not always active, but a searching spirit would be hard to miss. Being aware of what they are carrying, it appears that one of the bikers is actively looking at them, as well as a tall businessman in a suit that stops to appreciate the mesmerizing flower.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby decided to draw less attention and went for the ground floor were he usually conducted his business, scrolling through the bank's available services in an AR feed, filling out what he could beforehand.

[Thanee]

<< In case you are wondering, what these guys are staring at... there is a pretty large astral flower on our van right now, and both the ganger and the businessman are astrally active. It's kinda like a spirit, that emerged from the card. Not sure, if it is sentient, though. >>

[Jack_Spade]

<<Drek. Can you cast a barrier around the card? if its so obvious on the astral, our whole charade is for nothing.>>
Bobby indicated for Mato and him to leave the bank and return to the car.

[Thanee]

<< Sorry, no. I could conceal it on the physical, but not on the astral. It is not always there, we might just have to watch it a bit longer and time our visits better. I mean, honestly, if we manage to get it out without anyone noticing, this might even help our little charade here. These guys will totally write something about it online somewhere, making it very believable, that the card is actually here, if interesting and knowledgable parties stumble over messages about the astral flower. >>