[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:15pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

"Specifically," Kreskin interjected quickly, before their intent might be misunderstood. "...we would like to talk about who you are holding him for...."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:15pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

"Woah," she says, "easy pardner. What's this talk about ransom? I am not a kidnapper..."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:15pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin smiled, and tried to read the woman - to see if she was bluffing. "Perhaps..." He looked at Wolf, "...we were misinformed, and we understand that you've got to be a bit hush-hush about ongoing biz, but one of two things is going on here. Either you are holding the man we're talking about, and one of us is being mislead, or someone has implicated your team in a job they had nothing to do with...." He raised an eyebrow, "Either way, I think we should sit down and talk for a bit, don't you?"

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

Kreskin watches the young woman's body langauge, and listens to her speech, and is convinced that she's telling the truth. She's under a lot of strain, but the main thing he gets from her is indignation.

"You talk. I'll decide if I have anything to say."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin nodded. "Fair enough. You seem legit, so I'll level with you, but keep in mind we need to be a bit hush-hush about our ongoing biz, as well - particularly if the Cats are unconnected to this." He gestures at Wolf, "As we said, an Ares executive was abducted from a conference here in the Sioux sector. Evidence points at you guys, including video footage of your team going into his room, and walking out with him. Nothing air-tight... but here we are." Kreskin shrugged, "This morning, the proprietor of this 'establishment' realized the executive was missing when he received a ransom note demanding an insane amount of money - or news of the abduction would leak, which would tank the reputation of his business." Kreskin nodded, "That is where we come in."

He pointed at the Cat. "I figure, at this point, either you know the job we're talking about - and we can talk about how best not to step on one another's toes - or the evidence was planted to frame you." He shrugged again. "... either way... doesn't really change my job - might change yours, though." He then looked at the woman, waiting to see if she had anything to say, yet.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

As you lay out your story, her face goes stony, and gets more and more serious as the details roll out. When you get to the part about the ransom, she looks up at you, but keeps listening.

"I wasn't lying when I said we're not kidnappers." She sighs. "I shouldn't even be saying this, but it sounds like somebody's doing us dirt. Yes, we're involved. Belenkiy - the Ares exec - he's with us, and he's safe. We were paid to pull him from the resort, take him and see if we could get some information out of him. We never sent any ransom request. I don't expect you to believe me, but our orders are to return him to the ranch, unharmed. Tomorrow night at midnight, actually."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin nods along, "I believe you, we did a little digging before bothering you. Unfortunately, the ransom deadline is nine A.M. tomorrow, so that's when your boss is probably going to be very disappointed and when we have a very resourceful resort owner on our hands with a quarter-million reasons to track down anyone involved in this shakedown." Kreskin looked pensive. "Obviously, if you guys want no part in this ransom business, you could drop B off before nine, and save everyone a lot of trouble - but I imagine your boss will be pissed, and won't pay you. I dunno what he has offered you, so I can't make any promises about being able to help with that. If you decide you need to see this job through to the end - either for financial reasons, or to preserve your rep - we can respect that, but if our own finances or reputations end up on the line... well, we can disagree professionally, and still respect you. Either way, we're hoping you could help us figure out who is behind the whole thing." Kreskin held up his hands. "Hopefully, that wouldn't violate any agreements you guys might have made with your J."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

Wolf stood listening to Kreskin and the woman talk. Something about what Kreskin had just said was clearly bothering him but as he couldn't quite figure out what it was, he stayed silent.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

"Well, that's not going to work. If we don't keep him until Midnight tomorrow, we're not going to get paid, and it'll get around that we're not reliable. The blackmail, he can't go through with it though, right? What's the blackmailer going to do? Tell the world that your boss let somebody on his ranch die, only to have that person show back up at work on Monday?"

[Saturday April 9th 2072 717pm Denver Sioux Sector South Platte Park]

That was what had been bothering Wolf. If the Cat's weren't involved in the the ransom...

"Ransom is bluff."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin thought about it. "That is a very good point. The whole ransom thing doesn't make a lot of sense, from a couple of different perspectives." He glanced at Wolf, then back at the woman, and added, "... but you probably don't need to worry about that." He made a mental note to call the FCC, let them know this new information, and see if that changed their orders. He smiled, "... and we can certainly understand needing to make sure the job gets done. We don't take it personally. On that topic, any thoughts on how willing you and your team would be to helping us figure out who hired you?" He grinned. "We would like to get paid, as well."

It definitely took some of the pressure off to know that the Cats really did have Mr. B, and that they didn't mean him any harm. Kreskin believed the woman when she said that they were going to return him at the time they were ordered to, and maybe that would be enough. If not, Riot. Angel, and Doc had eyes on the safehouse, and would hopefully notice if anything went down.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, DIY]
Riot's Roto-Drone

Keeping a fair distance away, the Roto-drone, under Riot's command, circles the DIY using vision magnification on the externally mounted camera to look for secondary entrances, backdoors, and any obvious security devices. Even attempting to look through windows, with thermal graphic vision if possible.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

The woman smiles and says "Who hired us? That much is easy. Ares hired us."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin smirked, "Ares, huh?" He gave Wolf a glance, then motioned with his hand, while he thought through the situation. "... so I guess you guys tossed the room to try to find answers to whatever question they wanted you to ask him about." He nodded, as if that made some sense, but there was still some pieces that didn't fit. The ransom, for example. Could it be that easy - that it was just a distraction - or was there a third party involved? "You guys have any luck with that? Maybe we can thank you for the tip by helping you find what you are looking for." He shrugged, as though he didn't really care one way or the other. "Like I said, we did a little digging...."

Before the Black Cat could even respond, Kreskin turned his attention completely to Wolf and said, "Riot will never let us live it down, if this has to do with the mob." He smiled and laughed, but the comment was dropped very intentionally. If the Black Cats were supposed to get information about a mob-connection, letting them know that their team had some information in that direction might keep her attention, a little bit longer.

Double post

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, DIY]

The drone begins to scout around the building. You can see that it's not terribly stable - starting to sink along the south side a bit, maybe crumbling foundation, but isn't in any danger of falling down, and the walls look thick enough to absorb small arms fire okay. There are windows, but most if not all of them have something covering them, either blackout shades or boxes or the like.

As your drone is circling, you're finding it hard to keep control of the beast. It's not an attempted takeover, and it's not ECM. The area just seems overwhelmed with static, like the wireless signals aren't getting through, and your control is tenuous at best. A little looking online tells you that the area around this place is known for having terrible static problems, and making wireless communication less than a sure thing.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

The woman looks at Kreskin and at Wolf. "Someone is up to something with that ransom. I don't like being played like that, so I'm going to let you in on our job parameters. We picked up Belenkiy at the behest of Ares. What we're trying to get out of him is any information at all. You see, Ares is a little leery of just how quickly he's been able to make a name for himself, and they wanted him tested - to see if he'll crack. We won't kill him, or even hurt him, we just want to see if we can get him to talk. So far, he's not breaking, but we have until Midnight tomorrow to work on him."

She pauses. "I really don't know who is involved in the ransom bit, unless there's somebody at Ares maybe, who wanted to make a buck on the side? All I can tell you, and you can tell your boss, is that he won't be hurt, and he'll be back at the Ranch by Midnight Sunday night."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin nodded, "Understood. Well, I guess we should get back to that. Even if the threat behind the ransom doesn't really work, we're still supposed to figure out whose doing it." He offered his hand to the woman, although he didn't really expect her to take it. "Here's my commcode, if you'd like to get a hold of us, or have any questions, or end up needing a hand with B, or something...." He stopped rambling and smiled, "It'd be nice if we could get a direct line to you guys if we hear about any trouble, but if you wanna vanish into the night, that's cool too."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, DIY]

"If we help you break him before nine, can we take him? That way we both get paid."

<<@Falcone [Wolf] Belinkiy is safe, will be returned by midnight tomorrow, unharmed. Will try and secure earlier release. Ares ordered kidnap, not responsible for ransom. Making further inquires.>>

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:22pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

The woman takes Kreskin's comm ID, but not his hand. "Very good. We'll make sure we take good care of him." Addressing Wolf, she smiles "No, thanks. We have some pretty tight parameters we have to work within. We'll do our gig and return him to the ranch on time, don't you worry."

As you're conversing, a response comes quickly back from Falcone <<I'll want a full report, ASAP. And so long as he's not back in my hands, I'd appreciate it if you would continue your work - find out who is responsible for the ransom.>>

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:22pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

Wolf pulled out his comm and showed it to Kreskin so he could read the two messages, with an additional query added.

<<Back to the ranch?>>

Putting it back in his pocket, he turned to the woman.

"One last thing then. What do we call you?"

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:17pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin glanced at Wolf's comm, and nodded. While Wolf asked the woman his final question, Kreskin stepped away from the conversation and started a new message to the whole team.

<<[Kreskin] @ Angel, Doc, Riot, Wolf:: Meet panned out. Game changing info. Johnson wants debrief, ASAP. Pick us up on your way?>>

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:18pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, DIY]

<<Riot@Team - Roger, we're on our way. Next step?>>

Riot recalled his roto-drone after sending the message and plotted the route to the park to pick up Wolf and Kreskin.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 7:18pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, DIY]

The woman sends Wolf and Kreskin her comm ID. "Call me Kyra," she says as she turns to return to her bike.

Riot pilots the van into the parking lot and Kreskin and Wolf pile in. The route plotted, you begin to make your way back to the Ranch and Mr. Falcone.

It's an easy trip, and you arrive just before eight. Hafiz meets you at the same entrance you came in before, and he takes you to Falcone's office.

"What's the story, people?" he asks without preamble, stress showing on his face and in his manner.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:00pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin stepped slightly forward and said, "We tracked down the team of Runners that took Mr. Belenkiy, and we're very confident we have located the safehouse that he is being held at. Before moving to retrieve him, however, we arranged to speak with the runner team, to try to get information on who hired them - turns out it was Ares. It also turns out that they were not the ones who made the ransom, which is consistent with the facts we have. Their mission was to take B away and interrogate him - trying to see if he would crack - but they were specifically instructed to return him, unharmed, to his room, at Midnight, tomorrow." Kreskin gestured towards Wolf, "We attempted to negotiate a scenario where they return him early, but Ares was specific about the time, and the Runners do not want to jeopardize their payment. However, it seems that if they return him, unharmed - even if it is after your deadline - there shouldn't be any real damage to your reputation. It also appears that you don't have to worry too much about hiding these facts from Ares, who already know all about the problem."

He then put his hands up in a weak shrug, "However, this is all information told to us by the people holding B, so - although I didn't get the impression she was bluffing - we should all take it with a grain of salt. We lack any sort of proof. Even if she is being straight with us, that doesn't mean that the ransomer is not still planning to try to do something to B before Midnight tomorrow if his demands are not met. Whoever got into your security system to leave the note had access to the same clues we did that led us to the Runner team." He smiled, and looked more confident. "However, some of the pressure may be off. We know B is safe, and we know where he is. We also know he isn't going to be moved from that defensible location until tomorrow night. To be honest, with a team of Runners watching over him, he's arguably safer where he is than he would be if we returned him here." Kreskin clapped his hands together, "In any case, this information may free us up to focus on finding out who is trying to blackmail you, and making sure that the threat is really as empty as it seems."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:00pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

Falcone listens to your story, nodding. "Yes, that does sometimes happen. Belenkiy has been rising pretty quickly through the ranks there at Ares - he's quite young to be a VP. Some of the other executives there probably wanted to test him." He wheels himself out from behind the desk and distributes the remainder of your pay - five 4K credsticks. "I still want to know who it is that's running the sideline scam on me, though. Get me that name, and there's another grand a piece still in it for you."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:00pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin nodded, took his credstick, and said, "We appreciate your business and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we'll do everything we can to get that information for you before your nine-o-clock deadline. Problem is, we've eliminated the Runners and their employer as suspects. That doesn't leave a lot of people who could have known that the run had taken place, in the time frame we're talking about." Kreskin looked at the rest of his team.

"Our best suspects, now, would actually be members of your security staff who may have had the opportunity to notice the run taking place on the security footage and chosen to attempt to blackmail you, rather than attempt to stop them - without knowing the true purpose of the abduction." Kreskin didn't really like casting accusations about Falcone's staff, but that was, actually, the only situation that made sense to him at the moment. "That, or you have an enemy with a lot of luck, patience, or enough intel on your operation to know when things like this happen, here, before you or your staff do." He shrugged. "In either case, since we're here already, do you have any objections to us taking a closer look at your affairs, or should we focus our attention... externally?"

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:00pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]

"It's less about my comfort level, Mr. Demasi, than that I've run through an internal investigation over the course of the last ten hours and feel confident that the ransom was demanded from outside of my organization. I want this... person... and I don't want you to waste your time in finding him, her, whoever." You can see the anger seething under his professional exterior.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:00pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin seemed confused when Falcone called him by the name of his fake SIN. He was still getting used to being 'Cody Demasi', and it took him a second to realize who he meant. "Then we shall do exactly that," he said with a smile. He then gave everyone else the opportunity to ask any other questions, and tried to think of another lead they could explore.

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:01pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, The Horse Trot Ranch]
Kim: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Angel Snow

Kim had wondered why Kreskin avoided naming the Black Cats; surely he didn’t think we owed them anything? She had figured that Falcone would notify the authorities, as soon as he knew the address where B was being held. It came as a big surprise to her that not only he wasn’t interested in neither name nor address, but even more that he paid them without any proof of their story being true.

Not having done anything to earn the money, Kim felt a bit dirty for taking the credstick. She had seriously considered not to take it, but justified it by thinking she would get paid 5k for finding out the person behind the ransom.

Kreskin’s accusation of the security staff didn’t make much sense to Kim; removing the videos would hide their incompetence, but the ransom note didn’t. She didn’t understand why he had eliminated the Black Cats and Ares as suspects either, since they both knew about the kidnapping. Kim only agreed on one point Kreskin had made and that was that it had to be someone who knew B was taken from the ranch before Falcone knew about it.

According to Kim, that meant there were still a lot of possible suspects, but just one of them answered all her questions: Belenkiy.

“I’m going to need to see B.”

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:01pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin thought about it and nodded, "We might be able to arrange that. Good idea."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:01pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, The Horse Trot Ranch]

"I'm not sure they'll agree. Guess it's worth a shot though."

<<@Kyra [Wolf] One of my team wants to meet with Belinkliy, see if he has any idea on ransomer. Doable?>>

"I'll let you know."

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:02pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, The Horse Trot Ranch]
Kim: PAN = passive | Fake SiN = Angel Snow

After some consideration Kim thinks it won’t hurt if Falcone hears why she wants to meet Belenkiy too.

“This is what I think happened. B came to this ranch to relax. He contacted someone for matters of personal nature, who gave him the tobacco. Sometime after that he gets a message from someone working at Ares who is loyal to him, informing him about the impending test. B knows that if he somehow avoids being taken, Ares will just try again another time. It also explains why he was still awake, seemingly waiting for something. He finds out that the owner of this ranch used to be a fixer. So B comes up with this plan, to let his commlink leave a ransom note after he’s gone. To make sure Falcone will hire a runner team he makes it look like it’s personal.

Either he has to get through the ordeal and maybe earns a quarter of a million or he gets rescued early and Ares will most likely still think he passed the test. Pretty clever if you ask me, and it would have worked too if we wouldn’t have talked to the team who took him.”

[Saturday April 9th, 2072 | 8:02pm | Denver, Sioux Sector, South Platte Park]
Kreskin | PAN = hidden | Fake SIN = Cody Demasi

Kreskin nodded, appreciatively. "I think, of all of our scenarios, that one actually explains the most. Like I said, there can't be too many other people who knew when the extraction was going down." He thought for a second, and looked apprehensive. "Any luck with that commlink, Riot? If B set this up, and intentionally left his commlink behind - and active - the proof would be on there."