The Found Arcana - Chapter 11 [IC] Options

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby tagged the two cameras and sent those to AM and Tamarind to check out as well.

Then he went to look around a bit more, finding nothing and finally sat down with a cup of soycaf in the stuffer shack.

<<If anyone of you has some time - and an invisibility spell - we could check out if there is still any data to be extracted. I doubt anyone took the effort to do so.>>

[Tecumseh]

Bobby goes to the Stuffer Shack, where he is not confronted by a knife-wielding assassin. The only thing assaulting him is the Stuffer Shack's over-roasted, over-boiled soykaf.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby sat down with his cup, but had no desire to drink the slob. Instead, he began searching shadow forums and blogs about a runner specializing in knife play and especially cougar fine blades as their weapon of choice. If he knew anything about geeks than that a knife wielding female professional mercenary would have some thirsty fan somewhere. Maybe posting the drawing would get some attention as well.

[ Spoiler ]

Computer search: 8d6t5 3
Computer search: 7d6t5 3
Computer search: 6d6t5 4
Computer search: 5d6t5 1
Computer search: 4d6t5 2
Computer search: 3d6t5 1
Computer search: 2d6t5 0

[Tecumseh]

Bobby finds that the 'shadow' forums he knows about are populated with wannabes, losers, and basement dwellers.

>>>>>(She's good with a knife? She should make me a sandwich.)<<<<< --0xBadCafe

>>>>>(Not much of a cougar, knowwhatimsayin')<<<<< --SyntaxError

>>>>>(Uggo. Would not.)<<<<< --StackSmasher

>>>>>(Amateurish. Derivative. It's like a Paul Lung piece, but without the expressive and evocative elements.)<<<<< --MalwareMaestro

>>>>>(Nice try, narc.)<<<<< --BufferOverflow

>>>>>(Yeah, GTFO with that drek you Knight-Errant fragger.)<<<<< --VirusVandal

In general, it's not a loving, supportive community. Also, it's probably full of posers who wouldn't know as assassin from an ashtray. Bobby might have more luck with his contacts, or perhaps one of the ladies knows someone who might know someone.

[Beta]

Tamarind has to admit that Bobby has done a good job getting info from the squatters, and feels bad that she hadn't gone along. Then again, maybe it wouldn't have gone as well with two of them, who knows?

But now she heads over, first checking if AM has the time to drive over and do a bit of hacking. Either way, she heads out, bringing along flying drones. Once there she sets off the aunties, uncle, and both pellipers to scour rooftops for anything that might be a knife. Most likely the assassin either kept the knife or had a more secure disposal planned than tossing it onto a rooftop, and heck KE probably did this search, but it only takes a bit of time, and she isn't doing anything else useful.

drone clearsight swarm: 16d6t5 4

[Gilga]

>> I am finishing with Adeline, and then I'll have a look, no worries. I say and drink like my third Mimosa and let the chat go to break some of the ice with the woman - mainly because I do not want the relationship to be so transactional.

Eventually - I pay the bill, cast the detox spell to stop being so giggly and painfully cheerful and head up to Bobby's location to see what I cameras can be found there.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby was undeterred. He looked for more forums, but targeted more military focused ones, where he knew the clientele better. After all, a lot of mercs had military background. He knew that the rangers favored the blade somewhat, so he concentrated on those with his sketch.

But just for fun, he used some commercial matrix site, to draw a nude body underneath the face, and pasted that in the forums with the more juvenile attendees.

[ Spoiler ]

Knowledge Military: 7d6t5 2

[Tecumseh]

AM learns from Adeline that the Cougar Fine Blade used in the attack was recovered at the scene of the crime. (Specifically, still inside Howard Cannon.)

She relays this to Tamarind, who then can stop looking for a knife that K-E already has in its possession.

~~~

Tamarind doesn't find anything particularly compelling during the search of the area with her drones. She does find the two cameras that Bobby identified, plus a third that's across the street and tucked into a little corner that makes it hard to see. (Although it's position is a bit odd because why would you put your camera in a corner where it's field of view would be limited?) It would have a view of the mouth of the alleyway, although not an up-close one.

~~~

Bobby starts to get a little more traction from the military forums. If nothing else, they're more polite and less insulting. Or perhaps Bobby just has a better sense of military etiquette.

Which isn't to say that he strikes the jackpot, but he does get a couple careful follow-up questions that he takes as a good sign. They seem to be feeling Bobby out to determine his motivations.

(How exactly is Bobby structuring his inquiry?)

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby used the drawn image to spin a tale about a chance encounter on a classified training mission, about a live saved and a debt to be repaid to an unnamed, knife wielding soldier.
If asked why he looks now after years, he replied that he could be certain only now that the unnamed soldier is out of the service.

[Gilga]

I send Trouble to ahead test the cameras Bobby has found and see if there is an easy place to directly connect to them. In the meanwhile I spend a few moments to try and locate them in the Trix and see how difficult it is to hack them remotely - and how likely I am to get to some camera footage from near Cannon's murder's time.


If I decide that it is a go, I'll either park nearby and hack remotely from the comforts of my car - or I'll use the invisibility spell and hack it directly - all depending on my risk assessment. The best decker does not get caught not because she is the best but because she chooses her targets carefully. While I don't care much if I am seen, I don't want many evidence pointing at me not knowing whose fingers we'll step on this case.

[Tecumseh]

Bobby uncovers some skepticism.

>>>>>(An unnamed, knife-wielding soldier saved your life on a classified training mission?? What kind of training missions require your life to be saved by a close quarter combatant??)<<<<< --Hashslinger

>>>>>(What service did you say? That would help narrow it down. They tend to hang out in different places...)<<<<< --OperatorOverlord

~~~

AM arrives in Snohomish and finds the cameras that Bobby and Tamarind have identified.

Bobby found two cameras. One wireless (6 dice to resist) and one hardwired to the host of a modest business (8 dice to resist). AM doesn't think she'll have trouble with either one.

The less-obvious camera that Tamarind found is slaved to a more formidable host (12 dice to resist). However, it is quite near the roof and anyone on the roof could establish a direct connection that would simplify things considerably (6 dice to resist). Getting onto the roof would be the only barrier, although one that some combination of gear and magic should be able to overcome.

[Jack_Spade]

Patiently, Bobby replied: <<If you ever were on a classified mission, you know that the only thing you are allowed to say is that you were on a "training mission".
If you were there you'd understand and if not I can't discuss it with you.
If you don't recognize her that's fine - more details won't help if the drawing doesn't make you recognize her.

I think she might be a ranger, but hard to tell when you meet in the field and neither of you wears insignia - or name patches for that matter.>>

[Tecumseh]

>>>>>(I think your story's a crock of drek, chummer. Go back to the Metroplex Guard.)<<<<< --Hashslinger

>>>>>(Try finding someone with MonaLisa, the facial recognition database. I don't know if it'll work with a drawing, but I got it to work with grainy, low-light footage off a security cam once.)<<<<< --OperatorOverlord

Conveniently, SIS has a subscription.

[Gilga]

>> I am in wonderland so watch out for me.

Taking a Trix look there are two devices, one wireless and the other with a modest host. I can do it, but I should not get overconfident. I have blundered before by a moment of carelessness with that awful plant spirit trap. I remind myself, but careful or not, wise or not, it is hot simulation for me because well - viewing trix at such speeds is irresistable, even if it may involve injury.

I invite Iktomi's brilliance into my mind close my eyes as if I am sleeping. I grin mischievously as I give in to the addictive experience. My entire surroundings become different, digital fast. I am free to go in any direction, and I can clearly see the first wireless camera icon. I shrink myself to its size and scratch it a little bit with my fingernails, marking it and gaining basic access to it. The menus of the device quickly pop up and I browse to see if there are any relevant recordings I can borrow. Once I finish with the wireless device comes the real treat - the host. I sneak inside, turn invisible, and begin working my way toward a second data load. I am not sure if there is anything incriminating in there - but it is all worth it for the adrenaline.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby didn't waste time trying to disprove the doubter. He'd likely have gotten that reaction even if the story had been true.

He wasn't sure how to use the app, so he spent another half hour with a tutorial. Only then did he feed the drawing into the facial recognition software. Mato has insisted that it was a good investment - he was curious to see what it would spit out.

[Thanee]

Raven finds no lack off good spots to observe the animal shelter. It's in the parking lot of a strip mall that's no more than 30 meters away. If she could get onto the roof of the drug store that's across the parking lot, she'll have an elevated view of the surrounding area. If she doesn't want to be that exposed then it would also be easy just to be sitting in a car parked in the parking lot. There is plenty of traffic in and out, so blending in shouldn't be an issue.

There are also no lack of decent places to jog. There are some parks nearby, plus a trail that follows along the Snohomish River that's just a kilometer or two away. But the most likely spot would be a park just to the north of Potter's apartment building.

Raven sees an old dwarven woman walking a dog. She looks lonely, and like the type of person who would be familiar with the pulse of the neighborhood.

Rachel makes a mental note of one of the good rooftop spots, but a car might be even better to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Taking a walk around the park, she spots the lady with the dog. She smiles as she moves past her. Then kneels down to look at the dog, still keeping a respectable distance, however.

"Such a cute dog. Most people just have drones these days. I know, right? So unnatural. What's the name?"

[Tecumseh]

AM makes short work of the defenses around the two cameras. In a tense moment, AM is unsure of whether the camera footage even goes back that far. She finds that the security setting is to delete footage after 120 days, and she's juuuuust barely squeaking in under the wire. Things from the day of the crime would be deleted in a day or two.

After slicing through the Matrix security with ease, AM finds the same thing: nothing. At the time of the attack, nobody runs out of the alleyway. Did the assassin turn invisible before departing? AM looks for signs of someone passing by and maybe disturbing or rustling something in the area.

Wait, there: the tell-tale sign of a loop. Going frame by frame, AM identifies the moment when the cameras cut out and when they come back online maybe 12 seconds later. It's a professional-grade edit job that indicates that someone else was here and got to the footage first. Whatever these two cameras recorded is gone.

~~~

MonaLisa takes a while to work. Bobby can see the status bar progressing slowly, painfully slowly. How long can it take to bounce his drawing up against databases with billions (if not trillions) of images to look for a match? Answer: it takes a while.

The good news is that MonaLisa has access to a lot of databases that aren't public. It's not exactly a street-legal service, and that shows in their resourcefulness in accessing databases that maybe they shouldn't have access to.

After an hour, MonaLisa generates a low-percentage (57%) result: one Saiki Kiku. It offers some digital images for comparison and Bobby's agrees with MonaLisa's assessment: it's possible that it's the same person, especially if she was disguised, but it could also be a false positive.

There are some public photos of Saiki Kiki that were taken in the International District of Downtown, just south of all the skyscrapers and arcologies.

~~~

Raven finds the woman quickly willing to talk. Her dog is a Pomeranian, a fluffy little orange poof of a dog. It has a fox-like face and lively, intelligent eyes.

"This is Foxy!" the woman declares proudly.

Foxy can tell that Raven is paying attention to her. She zips forward, pulling on her leash, to either receive affection or play or both.

"She's my savior, really," the old woman continues. "Gets me out of the house - twice a day, minimum - and keeps me active. She's spunky and sassy, like me!" The old woman cackles with glee.

[Jack_Spade]

The first thing Bobby did, was to return to his squatter acquaintances and show them the image on his cheap commlink screen.

"Could that be the woman?"

If Agnes agreed, Bobby sent the result to the team and started asking his contacts - especially Andrew, Jhonney Morad and the casino security chief Tony Finnigan, reasoning that one of them might know a merc of that caliber.

<<Do you know this woman, Saiki Kiki, supposedly knows her way around knives. I'd like to get in contact with her.>>

[Tecumseh]

The squatters are disappointed that Bobby didn't bring anything with him sometime.

"Mm, yeah, I guess," Agnes says. "I didn't think she was Asian. But, yeah, dark hair, light skin, and plenty of makeup. I could see it if I look for it."

Bobby decides that's about as good as he's going to get.

Jhonney Morad doesn't respond. Or, at least not immediately. Maybe he will later.

Tony Finnigan's response is curt. <<I know who she is but I can't help you. She plays for the other team.>>

Katsuo “Andrew” Musai's response is less direct.

<<Bobby-san. It is a pleasure to hear from you after all this time.>>

That might be a subtle jab.

<<The cherry blossoms have bloomed and I find myself contemplating their fleeting beauty. They remind us of life's impermanence. I am composing a haiku for the occasion.>>

<<How is your health? How is the health of your friends? I hope you are all very well and may stay that way.>>

<<If you wish to call upon me, I will be dining at Noodles of Joy this evening. You may ask for me at the hostess stand.>>

This is a restaurant in Touristville that specializes in udon noodles.

[Gilga]

I make my report to the team >>>Good work Bobby... The video feed is looped at the critical time. It does not give me a face --- but it narrows the time our person of interest was at the scene to a twelve-second interval. I think we might be able to extrapolate from there based on walking/driving speed and try to see other cameras at, say, a 1-minute radius from that scene. Typically, looping the camera is enough because they'll be plenty of other people the further it gets. However, having a face for the obsession makes stocking this sweetie easier. Tamarind - can you map the cameras in a, say 200 200-meter radius? Perhaps slightly more/less depending on street connectivity.

(she would not write things like "assassin" on Trix).

[Thanee]

"Yeah, I can see that!"

Rachel reaches down to pet the little fluffy dog and crawl her behind the ears and under the chin.

"Hey Foxy! Do you like that? Yes? Yes, you do."

Looking up to the woman, or maybe she is more level with her now, actually, Rachel says: "It's good to be active. Keeps you healthy. Keeps your mind sharp. I'm often getting out to run, but I'm pretty new around here, so basically just taking a walk to scout some nice places. Down at the river also seems nice, but this looks pretty great for a nice morning jog. I guess there will be a few people around here as well. Always a bit creepy if you are all alone in a park."

[Jack_Spade]

The squatters are disappointed that Bobby didn't bring anything with him sometime.

"Mm, yeah, I guess," Agnes says. "I didn't think she was Asian. But, yeah, dark hair, light skin, and plenty of makeup. I could see it if I look for it."

Bobby decides that's about as good as he's going to get.

Jhonney Morad doesn't respond. Or, at least not immediately. Maybe he will later.

Tony Finnigan's response is curt. <<I know who she is but I can't help you. She plays for the other team.>>

Katsuo “Andrew” Musai's response is less direct.

<<Bobby-san. It is a pleasure to hear from you after all this time.>>

That might be a subtle jab.

<<The cherry blossoms have bloomed and I find myself contemplating their fleeting beauty. They remind us of life's impermanence. I am composing a haiku for the occasion.>>

<<How is your health? How is the health of your friends? I hope you are all very well and may stay that way.>>

<<If you wish to call upon me, I will be dining at Noodles of Joy this evening. You may ask for me at the hostess stand.>>

This is a restaurant in Touristville that specializes in udon noodles.

Bobby dispersed the sadness by leaving a few more creds with the squatters, increasing the expenses to 300 Nuyen.
He replied to Andrew:

<<My friends and I are fine, because we are busy. Nothing quite like clawing your way up in the world.
Thanks for the invite, I'll meet you there.>>

Bobby forwarded to the team and asked: <<Anyone want to join me? Sounds like the Yakuza might know more about her. I could use someone with better negotiation and etiquette skills. Fragging Japanese culture always trips me up with its circumspect drek.>>

[Gilga]

I text Bobby >> I have a soft spot for Andrew. He'll be happy to see me. About etiquette - you need to show that you know you respect his superior position and that you are grateful for his time. I text Bobby -- I miss Andrew. I was angry when he kept everything correct when Mato was hurt, but I feel that out of all the people in that terrible organization, he was the only one who cared about what I felt like. It can be just etiquette but I trust him a bit more.

I am writing a small haiku as a tribute. Despite myself, I am not sure that I'll share it with Andrew it would likely be too embarrassing - but summarizing our meeting in a restricted form is a cool mental exercise. I feel a warm feeling thinking about Andrew. I know the man is a criminal, a terrifying one, but I still find him agreeable despite myself, and he seems to cling to influence by personality despite the lack of street power.

[ Spoiler ]

Politics - A Haiku by Amy Maka Green
Rainy summertime
A pot replaces cannon
enjoying the knife

Less dreaming and more working! I imagine my mother's response to me writing a poem. So I am back to work, grinning that she still has a hold of me even miles apart. I scratch my head and test the roof I need to climb on to get direct access to the third device identified by Tamarind. I look for a semi-legitimate way to do it - while the invisibility + levitation is always an option it would feel very suspicious if there is an astral observer so mundane is sometimes the better approach. I ask Trouble to check if there is anyone else astrally percieving in the scene, while I focus on the mundane.

[Beta]

Mapping out cameras was something Tamarind was happy to do. She'd already had her drones start surveying the area along likely escape paths, before finding out that the knife was not to be found. Now she returns them to that job, changing the search parameters to look for cameras.

[ Spoiler ]

drone clearsight swarm: 16d6t5 6

[Tecumseh]

@Bobby
Andrew acknowledges Bobby's RSVP. <<Very good. A nutritious meal can be very beneficial to your health.>>

~~~

@Raven
Foxy does like that, yes she does! The pup readily absorbs any and all attention that Raven provides. And, once Raven is done, Foxy lets it be know that she wouldn't mind some more.

"Oh, she's incorrigible!" the old dwarf woman smiles at the display. "You'd think that she didn't sit on my lap and get pets all evening, wouldn't you?"

The woman listens to Raven politely.

"Oh, it's quite safe here!" she says of the park. "Here I am out by myself with only Foxy for protection. And what would Foxy do? Ask a mugger for attention! I harbor illusions of her biting ankles, but let's be realistic."

A thought occurs to her.

"Why, that Corinne Potter runs around here!" she says. "You know, the candidate for Governor? Drives her coppers mad that she runs faster than they do. Oh, they keep eyes on her with drones and with those woooo!" - she makes a noise like a ghost - "spectral things that the rich and powerful like to use. But she's out here in the flesh and blood, just like you and me. And she's nice as can be too! Stops to pet Foxy without fail. Sometimes even has a treat for her! Can you imagine running with dog treats in your running shorts just in case you passed a friendly pup?" The old woman beams at the thought and Raven is quite sure that the woman will be a Potter voter.

~~~

@AM
AM studies the building. It's a business of some sort, although its precise functionality isn't clear. The building is five stories tall and made of brick. There are plenty of windows, but no balconies or external stairwells.

Trouble reports that there is a door on the roof, so there must be stairs inside leading to it. But that, of course, would require AM to go inside the building.

Trouble says there isn't any obvious astral security, but that there is a playful free spirit that's on the next rooftop.