The Found Arcana - Chapter 12 [IC] Options

[Gilga]

Thanks for the feather then... what is it used for? I cracked my head about that for a while.

She asks, when she mentioned they didn't have trix support You had no trix backing, but the decker covered your tracks to make sure nobody discovers his bluff. It fits, and he missed the other cameras because he didn't actually have boots on the ground. All in all, dude did us both a favor. Had we found Belenkiy, it would have ended badly for one of the groups. This way there was no violence, and everyone walk home with a coin in their pocket.

Bold and stupid, but well he was trying to make half a mil in a scum which is kind of epic had it worked, especially if you return him to the ranch. Speaking about a Counting Coup, to take and return him like that... impressive power play.

Oh... and thanks for meeting Captain Razak, Shall I forward him your number or should we go through Susan?

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby had taken position on top of the bar, looking around for anyone noticing him placing the bug, before heading back to the car

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 10d6t5 3

[Thanee]

Looking around astrally from his hiding spot on the roof, Bobby does not see anything out of the ordinary at first.

But then an astral form emerges from the Gopher. A projecting magician, clearly awakened. A woman, most likely the shaman of the Black Cats. She floats a bit higher and looks around.

A closer look reveals no intrusive cyberware, Essence as full as his own. Magic not quite as high. Healthy, calm. No visible spells or foci.

* * * * *

Inside the Hardpan, Kyra mostly nods to AM's words.

"Oh, where is the fun in just telling you that," she says about the feather, smirking slightly.

"Yeah, through Susan is good. Don't want to circumvent her. She's a good friend."

She pushes her chair back a bit, ready to get up.

"I guess, we are good then. It was nice meeting you this way. No hard feelings, I hope."

Her arm reaches out, extending a hand.

[Gilga]

AM accepts the hand and shakes Kyra's hand. "It was fun... thanks for not losing your mind with my impossible crew."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby saw the astral form emerge from the car and was immediately alarmed. It should not be possible for a mage to interact with the mundane world from there, but who knew what had happened to Tamarind. As fast as his squirrel legs could carry him, he ran back.

[Gilga]

AM texts the team the highlights of her conversation with Kyra. 1. They return our guy unharmed to the farm in a few days, and 2. They agreed to meet Razak.

[Thanee]

Bobby makes it back to the truck and finds Tamarind still in the driver's seat, monitoring the surroundings with her drones. She has not noticed anything about astral visitors.

Assuming, Kyra told the truth, there does not seem to be much else to do, but report back to Falcone, maybe wait a few days for things to settle down and work themselves out, and collect your payment.

[Jack_Spade]

After a quick retransformation, Bobby grabbed his trode patch and informed the team while he put on pants: <<We just got made - an astral projecting mage just exited the gopher - doesn't seem to have done anything that I can see. I'm coming in as backup.>>

[Gilga]

AM updates Bobby with the talk to Kyra. "Its okay no need to track them. "

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby listened to the short report and replied: <<You are too trusting - we need a life sign from Belenky. I'll personally take her from her bike if we don't get an assurance that he'll be back unharmed.>>

[Gilga]

>> Just back off, at least for now. We got caught with our hand in the cookie jar. Their mage caught you hiding on the bike, Kyra confronted me about it. I had to spin it out that you guys are crazy to get her to continue the conversation. They have no decker, magic tricks won't work but tracing a link might if you really want to burn that bridge.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby replied: <<Alright, I'll leave it to your judgement - but if Belenky turns up dead or not at all, it's on you.>>

[Beta]

Made by magic, of course. We should have thought of that. Ah well.

I wonder if I should go inside? I could get a drink and meet some people? But possibly some of these I knew from past lives I don't want to dredge up. Heck, the 'Cats could have run with or against the smuggling enterprise I worked with.

But a beer would be good at this point.

... and that is really why I can't go in there. When did I start thinking that grabbing a drink was something that was OK for me to do? I've been down this path, one never feels like enough. Better to stay out here, out of temptation.

With a sigh, Tamarind messaged AM >>Anything in particular I should be doing? Going in? Staying here? Calling in our drones? Or just stay chill for now?<<

[Gilga]

she texts Tamarind >> conversation is over. Kyra says they are going to release Belenky in a few days. We can either take their word for it or plan a trid shtick. I tend to be on the careful side, trusting Kyra on that one while Bobby does as Bobby does... So you can go either way... take a drone and do the spy thingy or let go and have a game of darts or pool, or Iktomi willing... a drink.

she sighs and texts Bobby >>Yeah, I can feel you. We can play it either way, the Trickster is strong on this decision. I tend to err on the side of caution, we get on Razak's good side for the introduction. If they do as they said then we'll get paid even more... So it feels to me like a good place to quit while we're ahead... but Kyra did sort of admitted they still have him, and if you managed to stay hidden... I would have played the cards differently.

[Tecumseh]

Mato is a little surprised with AM laying out her cards like that but he's not one to be a backseat driver.

<<Come now>> he chides Bobby when he tries to put undue responsibility on AM for Belenky's fate. <<You know as well as I do decisions made in real time are never perfect. Don't second guess an operation, especially one that we specifically delegated to AM because she's the one with social graces. We all share responsibility for the outcome.>>

<<I don't know why we're worried about Belenky being dead. If he's dead, he's already dead. There's no need to sit on him for two days, then kill him. Nothing we can do about that at this point. We weren't hired to go on a spree of vengeance.>>

He sits and thinks about Belenky being returned unharmed.

<<So did Belenky extract himself?>> he texts, bringing up his pet theory. <<He seemed ready for it. Maybe he needed to duck out of an undesired responsibility? Or, who knows, maybe being extracted is worth social standing in corporate circles these days. Maybe Belenky did it to show how brave he was in the face of adversity, build up his cred.>>

That would be devious, he thinks to himself. I wouldn't even be mad about that.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby replied to Mato: <<No, if he was dead, the other team wouldn't have to stall. Information extraction can take a few days to verify information. For all we know, he could be in the process of being tortured or mind probed right now.
And as I said, I'll let AM make the call - but if she doesn't press for a life sign, it's her decision. We are still dealing with an abduction here - voluntary or not, you never know if the people behind it actually want the meat or just the data.>>

[Tecumseh]

<<I am not entirely up-to-speed on all the particulars of mind probes>> Mato begins, somewhat dryly. <<But I would think that a group with such potent Awakened capabilities would tear right through a man's psyche. Ritual magic would almost guarantee it, no?>>

<<Yes, verification could take a while, especially if they don't have proper Matrix support, but that doesn't mean they would sit on him in the meantime. If something doesn't check out, what are they going to do? Probe him again? Would the results be any different?>>

<<The way I see it, we can fight and make a big scene for no certain reward. Or, we can sit and wait for no certain reward.>>

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby replied: <<We just don't know - that's the point of verification. And we don't need to fight - we just don't have to appear as a pushover. That's what negotiations are about after all.>>

[Gilga]

AM sighs and tries to explain to avoid having the entire thing disolves into a pissing contest of who is more paranoid or responsible or whatnot. She texts, and curses herself as she mentally type. >>> The reason I did not ask for any reassurance, is because I never admitted to be directly interested in Belenkiy. I told them we came to do a job for the ransome note, we found the decker job is over. We encountered them going through the files and as we were pulling straws as to how to find them, Razak was intrigued professionally so we agreed to set up an introduction. Whatever she told me about Belenkiy it was voluntary without me asking about him. So Ahm... I can't suddenly be interested in him and demand things.

I used my verbal gymnastics to get her to keep talking to me after catching Bobby hiding, Tamarind in the truck as if playing overwatch and Mato pretending to be interested in darts. Whatever you guys had in mind, Kyra saw it as very suspicious. If you really want to go there and start poking them around, I can trace their commlink again, as long as Iktomi smiles on me... and a spy drone if Tam has any would be harder to spot than a magical cockroach... but if I had to gamble, I'd just take her word that they are not there to murder Belenkiy... and saying they'll return him out of the blue it is an odd thing to just toss around.

We have to make a choice with a very real possibility of making fool of ourselves regardless of what we choose. Consider yourself Lucky to have Iktomi's attention in this particular manner.

[Jack_Spade]

<<Understood - you are on the ground and I'm not, so we'll see how it shakes out. The stealth chip is in place. No idea if they'll find it though.>>

Bobby replied.

[Thanee]

<<Tuesday Evening - 21:32 - May 16, 2079 - Hardpan, Thornton, Denver>>

After a little back and forth, you decide to put some trust into what AM was told by Kyra. The Black Cats didn't have to come here, after all. If they suspected that you were after them, and why wouldn't they at least consider the possibility, their behavior clearly showed that they have been vigilant and covered their bases, it would have been easier and far less risky to just not be there.

The alternative would likely get messy, too. So, why take those chances? You secured half your paycheck, already. And there is a decent chance that you will get the second half as well. Plus, there is the deal with Razak, and it's surely a good thing to get him what he wanted. Going after the Black Cats now would very likely mess that part up.

So, you say your good-byes after a while, to Kyra, Susan, and also Cassy and her crew.

Kyra goes back to her bike and drives off. If you follow the tag, you can see her stopping about a kilometer or so away. A moment later, the tag goes dark. Cross-referencing with a map of the area you notice that it's a little elevated and a great place to put a sniper watching the parking lot.

For you, it's time to head back to Falcone's ranch.


<<Tuesday Evening - 22:22 - May 16, 2079 - Horse Trot Ranch, Brighton, Denver>>

When you return, Hafiz and Falcone are there, eager to hear what you have learned.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby looked at his team mates with a questioning look, shrugged and gave a compact but accurate report about what they found out about the black cats and their abductee.

[Beta]

Tamarind has only two comments on the way back to the ranch.

"I think we can start calling this an 'extraction' rather than an 'abduction.' Probably should make that clear to our employers, too. Lowers the temperature on recovery in some ways."

And later: "Their remote work is good, they have a good understanding of what each other is doing, without needing to check, speaks to their experience together and the work they've put into executing as a team. Not that our job requires the same generally, but it is maybe something we can think about more, having communication plans and 'do thing A until-slash-if Trigger-1 happens, then do thing B.' Just some some simple planning and communication would probably make us more effective."

[Gilga]

"Briefly, we identified the shadowrunner team that extracted Belenkiy, we met with them and asked them about it. They admitted to extracting him and to having him, but also told that he'll be back at your ranch in a few days.

We had a short debate about our action, and decided to avoid escalating it further since we have no evidence that Belenkiy is in danger. When we took the job we thought he was in serious harm, now it looks like some extraction or a power play, and we are not sure mr. Falcone would like to meddle in it, and put Belenkiy in danger with an extraction he might not need. We felt like this is the path that reflect your position the best, regardless of our compensation."

[Tecumseh]

Mato still can't believe he got out of the Hardpan without a bar brawl. Dare he say it, the locals were even nice. Maybe that's because Mato had the right look: a blue-collar Sioux.

His mind plays through various bar brawl scenarios. He would cover up with his cyberarms, rewarding any punches to his head with a hard greeting. Brawlers don't always know how to pace themselves; after a bunch of punching, they're often gassed, gasping for breath, ripe for the picking. But of course Mato can't just smash; a strike from his cyberfist would crack a skull, put someone in a coma or underground. No, he'd have to be more moderate: grappling, joint locks, submissions, and throws. Maybe toss someone through a window - that was a classic - although it generally sliced them up pretty badly. He'd be on the lookout for broken bottles trying to shank his ribs, or pool cues swung at his head, maybe someone would break a chair across his back. Judo, jiu jitsu, maybe some aikido, that would do it.

Mato snaps out of his daydream, returning to the present and the discussion at hand. He nods to what AM said.

"The Cats are exceedingly competent. In our professional opinion, given their expertise, reverse-extracting Belenkiy would pose equal - if not greater - risks to letting this play out. There's a reason why hostage negotiators would rather talk things through rather than resolve matters with a shootout. If the abductor says they will release the hostage, and there's a plausible chance of it being true, and no confirmed threat, then you let it play."