The Found Arcana - Chapter 12 [IC] Options

[Gilga]

When Falcone agrees so quickly, I am left with a sour taste in my soul. Perhaps I should have asked for more; did I just fall into the dreaded anchoring bias? It is a problem that half a mill may not solve, so 100k based on results is sort of a bargain. There is no time to dwell on my shortcomings, and it is an excellent pay for us. Even if the man could afford more - he can likely tell that it is a lot to us as well. Rich people always know just how much money one needs to submit.

I first read the note and try to gauge what kind of emotion is there. Is it angry? Cold? I don't expect much, but I try to get an initial mental image of the person writing such a note.

"Entering at ~ 5:00 AM, I note, leaving at 5:25 AM -- cool. We know when it happened. I comment when Hafiz explains the evidence “but where could they possibly go? Could they still be on the property?” I ask Hafiz, but I don’t actually expect a good answer I am just thinking out loud.


When I look at the knife, I recall a birthday trick I once pulled when doing odd jobs for Jimmy. If I can find the birthday kid's favorite toy - I can likely identify an emotionally significant knife. I notice that Bobby is doing the same but four eyes are better than two - and I also miss Trouble for such tasks.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing + improve intuition: 12d6t5 2
Drain: 11d6t5 6
if it was the other way around it would have been great - but the dice gods are a tad amusing.

When Mato asks me for the camera's locations, I nod and add them to my to-do list. “The Trickster can also keep you focused... if you want,” I suggest Mato improve the Intuition spell for his tracking. I learned not to rely on Iktomi’s magic because it makes me feel needy, but none of us are exceptional trackers. We know a bit about it. So a dash of fairy dust may give us an edge.

I scan the Trix for hidden icons in the room. They might have missed something if they had rigged the room in advance.

[ Spoiler ]

Matrix perception:
Matrix perception: 16d6t5 6

I make a quick inspection of the crime scene mainly to help Mato and ensure he does not miss anything. Even with Iktomi's wisdom on my side, I still trust his technological sensors more than I do my own senses.

[ Spoiler ]

Perception (crime scene): 14d6t5 2
bad roll -but Mato can enjoy 2 more dice from AM if it helps.

"My next stop is to comb the video for more hints. " I notify the group of my intent.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby sent to the group channel while he surveyed the astral landscape:
<<A shame that spirits aren't available here. A bit of spirit search would go a long way to help us out here - provided the victim is still within 5 km or so. Once I'm done here, I'll go wolf and try to find a trail by smell.>>

[Gilga]

"Tanaka has expired, but I can form a watcher. Legally."

[Thanee]

Hafiz replies to the various questions.

To Mato, he says: "The area of the camera footage? Yes, that is no problem at all. Mister Belenkiy was here on vacation, and not to meet anyone, as far as I know. And, yes, we are doing corporate retreats. In fact, corporate guests are our main business."

When Tamarind asks about the drones, Hafiz takes a moment to answer. "Yes, we can allow that. However, only over this building, and the outer areas, where the kidnappers retreated. And we will need access to the feed, just for security reasons. Our guests value their privacy. I hope that is an acceptable compromise. We did not search the room in detail, because we are no experts and did not want to disturb anything, that might offer useful insight. As for magical resources, there are none on site. There is a security mage on call, if we need any immediate assistance, but with the bans on summoning here in Denver, protecting an area, especially one as large as this ranch, has become a lot more difficult. On the plus side, there are no spirits snooping around either. Most of the free spirits that live here, are at the hub, usually."

Hafiz shakes his head at AM's question. "We highly doubt, that they are still here. They probably left as soon as they had their target, and might be holed up somewhere now."

Searching the room, the team finds a commlink, which must be Belenkiy's. It is a Transys Avalon, and currently shut down. There is a stylized pair of glasses, and an engraved pocket watch. There is an inscription, that reveals that the watch was a gift to him from the Vice President of Ares Research & Development Division for an outstanding achievement in the last quarter.

In the bathroom, Mato can find no hint about any serious medical issues, that Belenkiy might have. Just the typical stuff. There is a small pill box with a natural sleeping aid. He also notices a cigarette case, which explains the smell of patchouli, as it contains a few hand-rolled clove cigarettes. Eight cigarette butts are in the sink as well.

Under one of the pillows, one of Tamarind's drones finds a crow feather wrapped in leather.

AM and Bobby take a look at the astral. There is a hint of stress and nervousness, but it is only faint. No violence, or anything like that. But, let's face it, a sleeping executive is probably not putting up much of a fight. The obsidian dagger does not have any magical properties or astral residue. It is definitely not an item that was in the possession of its bearer for a long period of time.

On the Matrix side, AM cannot spot anthing unusual. There is just what you would expect in a hotel room also. Nodes belong to the communication unit, coffee machine, fridge, alarm system, and other such typical items. She cannot find any hidden nodes. There are no cameras here.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby shook his head: "Nothing on the astral that I can make out. I'll go wolf now. Please help me into my service vest, so no-one shoots me."

Bobby took a moment disrobe and stuffed his clothes into his duffel bag from where he pulled a dog collar and a large dog service vest.

[ Spoiler ]

Body Boost: 11d6t5 6

Shapechange F6+3 Reagents Wolf: 18d6t5 8

B8(12) A7 R6(9) S7

Drain Resist: Drain Resist: 18d6t5 10
No drain

Perception (Smell) to get his scent, followed by an extended tracking test
Perception Smell: 17d6t5 6

Extended Test Tracking
Tracking: 10d6t5 2
Tracking: 9d6t5 4
Tracking: 8d6t5 5
Tracking: 7d6t5 2
Tracking: 6d6t5 3
Tracking: 5d6t5 4

[Tecumseh]

"Nerves," Mato notes. "Not what you expect for a man ostensibly on vacation.

"That's a lot of cigarettes in the sink. Were they all smoked in the bathroom and not outside? Almost like he was holed up in here... waiting. Hafiz, do we have a sense of when Mr. Belenkiy was last seen out and about? When was the last meal he took?

"Kidnappers didn't take the commlink. Either they're afraid it would be tracked or they weren't interested in the contents.

"Things are going well at work. A pocket watch? A piece of jewelry, a handsome anachronism." Mato imagines carrying one. He appreciates the delicate movement of timepieces, the intricate interlacing of the various components. They seem like an elegant ancestor to the cyberware that he knows and loves. He resolves to buy one.

"I'm not seeing anything obvious. Why don't Bobby and I do some tracking. I'll accompany him that he doesn't get shot. We can check out the area where they passed through the camera footage. Maybe we'll pick up a scent or some footprints to track." Mato knows that Bobby is a better tracker in the wilderness, but maybe two noses were better than one. "Bobby, don't you have critter goggles or something with trodes? Do those fit this form? If not, I guess we can do the mind meld.

"AM if you want to boost someone, the spell might work better on Bobby."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby answered: <<I'm wearing my trode patch, but yes, put on my goggles - at the very least it will protect my eyes from the dust. And I wouldn't say no to a little boost to my perception.>>

[Tecumseh]

Mato helps Bobby the Wolf into his critter goggles.

Mato privately wonders why Bobby didn't turn into something more domestic, like a bloodhound or a foxhound or any of the numerous breeds that were suitable for tracking and were less likely to be shot on sight. Hopefully the service vest and/or Mato's presence helps degrade that risk.

"Alright, AM, sprinkle your fairy dust. Then it's time for walkies."

[Beta]

Tamarind thanks Hafiz, and promises to share the feed once she has it running, and arranges with him the correct matrix contacts to do so.

"A feather wrapped in leather? That seems like it should mean something to someone. AM, this thing doesn't have any magical residue or anything like that?"

To Mato's musings she says "This seems like a perfect place to sit outside and smoke, should be relaxing. Does make it seem like he was holed up. But avoiding something, or waiting for something? Either way I have this gut feeling that the link isn't going to have a lot interesting on it, but once AM gets a chance maybe she can try to crack it."

Once they are done searching the room, Tamarind goes out to launch first Lazybones over the building, then gets directions on how to get to the correct part of the periphery, and puts up Mimic there. Then, assuming that she is not being closely watched, she calls over the Pellipers and gives them new routes only over the periphary. Then she adds the Aunts and Uncle and finally sets all seven drones into a Swarm together with her strong Clearsight program running on her RCC. Hopefully working together, with different heights, cameras, and speed, they will figure out if anything interesting is to be seen. Bobby and Mato will follow the scent trail and should spot anything along that trail, but there was some chance that there had been support staff off to the side, or something else that left marks visible from the air.

Once she is comfortable with the search she calls in the Pellipers and stores them properly in the truck, and also the Aunties and Uncle.

[Gilga]

AM sits down and begins her work on the comlink assisted by mind magic and ultra-fast and extra fun hot simulation. Cracking the link to search for anything that would provide them with a hint of what happened and if the mark was indeed aware of anything that was coming. If there are any other devices slaved to this link, she would like to identify these as well.

[ Spoiler ]

Hacking ( hot sim): 20d6t5 6
I forgot about code slinger:
Hacking ( hot sim) fix: 2d6t5 1

edit file: 21d6t5 6

[Thanee]

AM quickly runs into a problem with the commlink. It is shut down, and it requires some kind of biometric authorization to turn on.

[Thanee]

Looking at the commlink a little closer, and wondering why it would be shut down in the first place, which is definitely unusual, AM can figure out that the 'link is in some kind of protective dormant state right now, awaiting the presence of a "key" to unlock. Most likely, that is something Belenkiy has on him. It might even be some kind of implanted chip. And when the commlink and the "key" were seperated, the commlink automatically went into this mode, to protect any valuabale information contained on it.

AM is quite certain, that there will be more security measures in place, like the automatic deletion of its content, if the commlink's software notices any break-in. Or maybe a distress signal sent to Ares.

Now, no protective system is perfect, and it is surely possible to crack this one as well, but it might take a while to do so, especially spoofing that "key" without knowing any details about the code it contains or frequency it operates on.

[Tecumseh]

"The feather wrapped in leather probably belonged to Belenkiy," Mato points out. "Something he had under his pillow at the time of his abduction."

A thought occurs to him.

"You know, I've heard of these. They're used as fan for a smoke cleansing. That would explain all the patchouli and cigarettes. It might also explain why he was doing it indoors. Easier to hotbox yourself when the smoke doesn't drift off.

"I'm not an expert, but many cultures have an ancient practice around it. Everyone from the Celts to the Chinese, the Indians to the Indigenous. Now what that means for us, I don't know. It could have been a part of Belenkiy's vacation and unrelated to the task at hand."

He looks around to see if any of the finger wigglers might know more about the ritual than he does.

"Here, let's see if the leather on the feather has any connection to the leather on the knife."

Mato compares the two for obvious similarities. He knows a bit about leather, but mostly in the context of men's fashion. Full-grain, top-grain, split-grain, genuine, and bonded... Mato privately wonders if he would enjoy a leatherworking course.

[Gilga]

"I am too eager... of course, it is turned off." I say to myself, awkwardly back from hot sim after a second. With a screwdriver at hand, I tend to examine the physical defenses of the link. Perhaps I can rig it to grant me access.

[ Spoiler ]

5 hits hardware test in ooc.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby had begun to sniff at the door and the window leading outside to get a sense of how many people had been here. The patchoulie was bad inside, but once outside, it would be a great help to follow the kidnappers.
<<Come on, let the girls do their job - the longer we wait, the harder to follow this trace gets.>>

[Thanee]

<<Monday Evening - 19:00 - May 15, 2079 - Horse Trot Ranch, Brighton, Denver>>

With the crow feather quickly dismissed and not paid much attention, it is lying there on the pillow under which it was found, while AM begins the tedious work to somehow circumvent the commlink's security measures. Without the "key" on hand, or knowing precisely what it is, she has to dig a little deeper and open the whole thing up to get access to the component that is preventing her from starting the commlink and then hopefully be able to hack it. It takes her about an hour to get this done, but in the end she is able to start the commlink, which is still locked on the software-side, of course. Luckily, AM also managed to avoid causing any alarm to go off, which could have resulted in some interesting follow-up from Ares.

As she relishes in the sweet taste of victory, even though she is only half-way there, a thought crosses AM's mind. If that part of the commlink's security is looking for a "key", that must likely be on Belenkiy's person, since it is not inside his room, maybe it could somehow be repurposed to work the other way around. Of course, not being Matrix-based, the range is going to be extremely short, but it might still be useful.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team focuses on the outside. Mato accompanies Bobby following any olfactory traces they could find near the house. While the hours that have passed by now make it harder, it certainly helps knowing the rough direction in which the kidnappers must have vanished. Tamarind provides overwatch with her drones, and also - while being able to enjoy the bird's-eye view over the rolling hills - points out potential routes that make sense for the kidnappers to have taken, considering the terrain and any concealment it offers.

This way, the team arrives at the area, where the camera has caught the infiltrators leaving with Belenkiy, knowing they are on the right track. Looking at potential escape routes from here, Tamarind spots a thicket of trees outside of the ranch proper, which would be a great spot to hide an escape vehicle.

[Gilga]

"Oh... I am in sweetie." I say, and realize that Trouble is not there. Well, not physically, at least, but we have never been apart until now. Not really. These Ares dudes have some fancy security mechanisms I have never seen before. I only wanted to find the guy, dammit. Why would a grown-up man carry a leathered feather? I have no idea, but perhaps it is important somehow. So I scan it for digital or astral and then put it in my purse.

>> The comlink is a vault, but I think I can get in. I managed to get it on, but it has a non-matrix security mechanism and a safety shutdown. Whatever is on that link must be worth a fortune, but it takes a lot of time - and would take more time to finish. What is the deal with the feather? I could imagine it as a focus or a fetish, but the dude is mundane, right?

[Thanee]

Looking at the feather astrally, AM can quickly determine, that it is just a mundane feather. She does get the impression, though, that there is some sort of personal connection to it from whoever carried it before it ended up under the pillow. Comparing it with the commlink, and other items that Belenkiy probably used a lot, AM is fairly sure, that the feather does not belong to him.

[Tecumseh]

Mato jogs alongside Bobby as they track the trail. When Tamarind alerts them to a thicket of trees to investigate, he changes course accordingly.

"Let's see if we can figure out what kind of vehicle they were using. One would suspect a van, but this is Denver - capital of smuggling - and I get the impression that they have the highest per-capita number of VTOL vehicles here. That would make for a quick getaway. Also means that he could be in just about any country in the world by now."

<<Hey, anyone got a mapsoft of the area? How close are we to a road or a trail?>>

[Gilga]

>> The feather does not long with Belenkiy, but it has an impression of someone else. Could be a recent gift... Or perhaps a statement? Cleansing the corruption? It feels a bit personal... I then curl my lips when I imagine militant pacifists fighting the good fight against the weapon industry.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby followed the indicated trail. While he let his nose do its work, he answered AM:

<<Put the feather in a plastic bag. We might need it for a thorough inspection later - olfactory or DNA. We are closing in on the potential transfer site. Hopefully it was just a normal land vehicle.>>

[Tecumseh]

Mato considers the new information.

<<What about the cigarettes in the sink? I know those are transitory, but can you get a sense if those are his or someone else's?>>

<<They didn't take the commlink, even though it wasn't hidden. Maybe it's a decoy, or maybe it was more trouble than it was worth, but it implies that they were after Belenkiy himself.>>

[Beta]

<<I wonder if the feather could have been an indicator of some sort, like a membership symbol, or something to show a specific person, or a marker for a debt or favour. Or even a passkey for drones or doors, like if I was going to be away from SIS headquarters and was going to put drones on patrol, I could give you each a symbol to show the drones to confirm to them that you were OK to allow in. Copying your looks is easy enough, but something like a feather would be innocuous enough that people would not likely copy it and show it. Well, whether or not it is, it is something to think about if the situation ever comes up.>>

Before Bobby and Mato go nosing around in the thicket, Tamarind checks for matrix signatures there. Her team mates could no doubt tear apart drones with impressive speed, but it would be nice to avoid risk of injuries.

[Gilga]

Once I finish with the link, I put the feather, some cigarette buts, the obsidian knife

[ Spoiler ]

, and everything else I might have forgotten.

in plastic bags and.

[Thanee]

Looking at the leftovers from the cigarettes, AM is quite sure that those are Belenkiy's. It also fits the whole atmosphere of the astral space in the room.

Hacking the commlink takes time, but eventually, she can disable the firewall and slip through. The operating system is something custom-made by Ares. She has access to his conversations and stored information now, though there are some areas, like one labeled "projects", which have additional layers of security, encryption and further access controls. There might even be data bombs hidden somewhere.

Looking through the call logs, one number stands out, as it is being called quite frequently. It belongs to a restaurant called Marcel's here in Denver.

* * * * *

The rest of the team arrives at the thicket and quickly finds tracks from a vehicle that was parked here recently. A 4x4, probably not quite as large as the Gopher. Some sort of SUV most likely. The area is south of the ranch and there is the E 168th Avenue running from east to west a bit further south, which is very likely where they must have headed from here.

Tamarind can find no nodes or other Matrix signatures in the vincinity, other than their own commlinks and such, of course.