>>In there? Cherie, there is no going in there. A resonance barrier of some sort is blocking entry and it seems to be poisonous to sprites and avatars alike. Someone REALLY does not want this place public.<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #397

Cynthia snorts {Hey, it was too easy up to now. Now, we have a good challenge. That will be cool. Though let me check stuff before I try to get in there.}

Cynthia accesses the cameras of the nearby buildings and stores, to see if she can find anything of the coming and goings of the place. She'll also check the 'link of the KE officer who prevented her to get in. Hopefully there is a list in there of allowed people, some protocol or something. Something that would allow her to learn more about this situation.

Matrix Perception (TM+2, VR+2, Silent -2): 14d6t5 3
Hack on the fly (+2VR, -2 Silent): 15d6t5 5

Hacking the security cameras of nearby buildings is a good idea................almost. Or, more correctly, it would be if there were any buildings nearby with security cameras. As it is, the closest camera with an eye on the road to the construction site is about a mile back. Its feed shows that there are plenty of trucks going back and forth along with a KE vehicle every now and then. The officer's 'link is easily marked and you can pull some information from it that indicates that every vehicle and person gaining entry to the site has a special chip identifying them as allowed in.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #398

Cynthia considers the problem for a moment. Then, she decides to wait for the next vehicle allowed to get in, and will observe the security procedure as far as the matrix goes. She will also make a copy of the content of the chip.

Then, when the next vehicle comes in, she also copies the chip: she expects the content changes, but that she might be able to make sense of it, and maybe to create a fake one. Finally, for that same vehicle, she marks it, intending to snoop the feed of its sensors: after all, even if it doesn't register anything, they are equipped with a lot of sensors that should allow her to learn a lot more.

However, estimating that the security is probably a bit too important to take the risk to keep an active feed between the vehicle and herself, she redirects the feed to an internal memory bank of the vehicle, a log of some sort hidden in an unused part of the central memory. And erases her mark: that way, no one should be able to tell she did anything. Once the vehicle exists, she will just have to mark it again, but that's pretty easy to do, and will be able to retrieve the data.

In fact, she finds this idea so good, that she does it on all vehicles going in the area until she has a good appreciation of what is going on in there. Plus, since there's pretty much only one access to here, she can do all this from far enough that she can avoid running silent.



Hack on the fly (+2VR): 5#17d6t5 8 4 6 5 6 (Limit is 5)
Editor [5]: 5#12d6t5 3 2 5 3 3 the fourth one is a glitch, so DV+2 for the drain?
Fade: 5#13d6t5 3 3 4 3 5, so 1+1+0+3+0 stun
The Editor Complex Form is used to hack the sensor feeds and register them in some out of the way place. I went with that instead of the Edit File command since it's more powerful, and would leave less traces I suppose. Plus the resistance is Intuition + Data Processing instead of Intuition + Firewall, and I suppose the firewall of vehicles is higher than the data processing. Plus, even if I fail, there are no alarms, I don't take any overwatch score (which Cynthia cleans between two vehicles), and I don't get a mark on myself in the process... So even with a bit of Fade, it's all good.

I rolled for five vehicles, but if there are less, use less of course ^^
Only by the fourth one do I take a 1d penalty due to stun, so it's all good. I'll just have to nap for an hour after that.
Remove success due to stun (hack, editor): 1d6t5 1 1d6t5 0 So the last Hack on the fly only has 5 successes, but since it was my limit anyway it doesn't matter.

Your ploy works fairly well, at least in execution. You get your marks on the next five vehicles and have their sensor information spool to a hidden portion of their dog brains for later retrieval. The flatbed trucks are going in with loads of construction materials and returning empty while the side dumpers are going in empty and returning full of dirt.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #399

Cynthia waits impatiently for the vehicles she marked to exit the compound, checking from time to time that no one is paying any attention to her, or worse.
As soon as the vehicles are visible, she marks them again and retrieves the saved data. Quite eager to finally see what is in there.



Hack on the fly (+2VR, -1Stun): 5#16d6t5 5 4 6 3 4

Your first truck is a flatbed and it is returning up the road as empty as the others like it have been. You are able to get your mark and can upload the data from the sensor feed. The dog brain does not have really good sensors, but they are sufficient for you to follow the route the truck took to an off-loading site. The driver gets out and turns a clipboard over to a supervisor who is accompanied by five men, four of whom are heavily armed and wearing some sort of full body armor. One of the armed men escorts the driver out of sight as the other unarmed man takes the driver's place in the vehicle. Shortly afterwards, the truck starts up again and drives towards a walled off area, beyond which you can barely see a huge pit in the earth with a road descending into it. At the gate to the wall, there is another sort of ID check and you see five more of the heavily armed men in armor standing alert. Then.................nothing. The sensor feed goes completely dark.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #400

Cynthia shows the recording to Arsène. {So much for my good idea... I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure you can't drive the thing if you don't have any sensor.}

She grumbles a moment {That's a lot of security for a simple construction site though. And those armours look pretty standard, don't they? I don't think the mercenaries had that much. What the heck is going down there...}

She considers the question for a moment then groans {I'm probably not good enough to hitchhack the truck when it goes through the barrier. And I'm not sure I would like it, I would likely get dumped, which is really not nice.}

After a couple of seconds, she says {Maybe I can try this: a program that monitors the feeds, switches off for a few seconds after the driver change, and reboots itself once behind the barrier. Hopefully, it was the barrier that disrupted my manipulation. Or...the barrier just disrupted the Resonance. Which is bad news too, but something I can try to see right now.}


The goal is to hack a new truck, then write two programs / edit the files in two ways
1) A program that does the same thing as the Edit earlier
2) A program that does the same thing, but shuts itself when the truck stops to change the driver (in both directions), and reboots after {time to change driver + 30s}. Hopefully enough time to pass the barrier.
If the two programs work, Cynthia will know the barrier disrupts resonance. If only the second one works, she will know it somehow disrupts active programs/recordings. And if none work... She'll be pissed ^^

Hack on the fly (+2VR, -1S): 16d6t5 7 (limit 5)
Software (+2VR, -1S): 2#12d6t5 5 5

Arsene does his best to shrug. >>Perhaps they go completely manual, Cherie, or maybe the truck has a separate set of sensors for past the wall, non? But I agree that the men with guns look very professional and are armed quite well.<<

Your efforts with the truck are a success and you set your second plan in motion. Sadly, you are doomed to disappointment this time as well. The program shuts off as expected and even starts back up as expected.............darkness. The program is running but the sensor it is connected to is gone, apparently shut off or disabled in some fashion. While you are fuming at the turn of events two things happen. The feed from the first truck was not turned off while you were working on plan B and is pops back into play precisely 33 minutes and 17 seconds after it went dark. You see the truck roll to a stop past the gate in the wall and the original driver take control of the vehicle again and drive it away from the site. The second thing is the appearance of a dark sedan (It has to be dark, doesn't it? After all, all the real bad guys have dark cars, right?) on the road leading to the site. It travels down the road, sandwiched between two of the large trucks. The vehicle moves ponderously and its tinted windows prevent casual viewing of the occupants.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #401

Cynthia grumbles. And vows she will get through all this. When she notices the black car, she hacks it too, and tries to get access to the feed its internal sensors. As she does this, she asks Arsène {Hey, can you check if there is a second set of sensors on those trucks? Or maybe modify my program to get the main sensors back on without the driver noticing anything and plant it on the two incoming trucks?}

Not even a second later, Cynthia says {Wait, I'm done, I'll do it with you. Yerk... Ok, all good...} After another second, spent looking at the feed, she says {Let's put the program on the car too, I'll bet it will be mightily interesting. If it works... But if it does, I'll have them pay me organic juices for a year. Or two. At least!}


Hack on the fly (+2VR, -1S): 16d6t5 5
Snoop (+2VR, -1S): 12d6t5 6

Software (teamwork, Arsène): 12d6t5 5
Software (+2VR, -1S, +5 Teamwork): 17d6t5 2 Yerk, edge to reroll misses
Software (+2VR, -1S, +5 Teamwork, edge): 15d6t5 4 total is 6, same as limit (5+1 for teamwork)

You and Arsene look at the trucks and determine that there is some sort of duplicate sensor attached to the primary but it is completely off line and so inaccessible at this time. You can set your program to try to turn the sensors back on quietly after the truck passes through the wall. However, you are disappointed to find that you fail to find any way to mark the car as it appears to be running completely offline and not part of the matrix. You only really know it is there from the security cameras back at the intersection and the operating sensors on the trucks to its front and rear.

The sedan pulls into the site and follows the truck ahead of it for a bit, but veers off to the side to park near a building on the edge of the truck's sensor range. Three people exit the car and head to the building, passing four heavily armed men who are standing guard at what appears to be the door into it. The feed is not clear, but you think you know one of the people who exits the car by a somewhat distinctive cane...............it could be Roger. Maybe. Possible. Naw, it couldn't be......could it? He and the other two men disappear into the building, unhampered by the guards.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #402

Cynthia growls, jumping around in frustration. And quite pissed off by "Roger", if that's even his name. Well, no matter for now. She'll get him latter. Or someone will anyway. For now, she can't do anything to him, so concentrates on her attempt to have the trucks' sensors back online after they cross the barrier. She really, really, wants them.

And while she waits for the trucks to come back out, she tries to find a way to hack stuff near where Roger went (she know his deck after all, so if it's not on the wrong side of the barrier, she should be able to follow it easily), 'links if possible, to be able to listen in on whatever they say. Though to do so, she slips back in silent mode. Worst case scenario, she'll mark his deck again. She did it once, she can do it again after all.

To find and hack anything that would allow her to listen in on Roger, his deck/'link worst case scenario:
Matrix Perception (TM+2, VR+2, Silent -2, Stun -1): 15d6t5 6 limit is 6 so all good.
Hack on the fly (Teamwork, Arsène): 12d6t5 2
Hack on the fly (+2VR, -2 Silent, +2 teamwork, -1 Stun): 16d6t5 7 Limit is 5+1

Whatever she ends up marking, she'll hide the mark with a Resonance Veil.
Resonance Veil [5] (Hide marks -1 Stun, Fade): 11d6t5 5 13d6t5 4 to hide her mark, no fade. Very nice roll there \o/

The man that might be Roger was carrying a satchel of some kind but nothing on him is linked to the matrix at this time. You do fins a 'link on one of the soldiers standing outside the door. (Device 6, Firewall 7) and several additional 'links inside the small building of similar quality. Your attempt is enough to succeed in marking the 'link of one of the people inside the room. You access the functions of the device and try to hide yourself as best you can. A conversation is in progress...................

"........eport, Major."

A voice that sounds a lot like Roger speaks next. "Colonel, I have found eight people that were good enough to detect my efforts and track me and have interviewed all of them, four by remote. Two of them are hacks and have been neutralized already. Two of the locals are good but not really what we are looking for. I will have them in for more interviews, but will likely terminate them as well. That leaves four and I have their IDs and addresses on the chip in the report. I am particularly impressed by two of the locals. The man, Eugene, is quite good, but I think that he is too white for what we have in mind and recommend caution in dealing with him. He may be turned, but it would need to be for the right reason. The girl, Cynthia, is a real catch if we can turn her. She is skilled but has almost no interpersonal skills or experience, so is a loner. She seems interested in the matrix as a tool, which is just what we are looking for."

The first man man interrupts. "Just what you are looking for, Major? My first responsibility is to the project and I could give a flying fuck about your recruiting efforts. Are these four any threat to the project here?"

"Not yet, Colonel. And I really do not want to point it out too much, but your desires here are not my interest or my concern. Remember who I am and never presume to threaten me or my project again."

Silence fills the room for a few moments and you are afraid that you have lost the connection when they start talking again. The other man seems to a bit contrite.

"I will not forget who you are, Major. I was not threatening you, just trying to stay ahead of the opposition. And mark my words, there are people working against us. We have already had the timetable............."

More silence.

"Yes, Colonel? You were about to say?"

"No, uh, nothing. Just trying to keep to my timetable."

"Yes. Well, you worry about that and let me worry about the hackers. I already have teams in place to do what is necessary, if it becomes necessary. Now, I will have those files you were supposed to give to me. Thank you, Colonel."

"Yes, Major. When will we have the pleasure of your next visit?"

"That is up.............."

He is interrupted by a third voice. "Colonel, er Major, my sweep of the room just picked up a hidden mark on Captain Grieg's comlink."

"Are you sure? Trace it."

"Trying to, sir."

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #403

Cynthia panics for a moment, before she realises there's no reason to. To be concerned, sure. But not to panic. Tracing a mark, while possible, takes a lot of time after all. First, she goes on another grid, which will make it even more difficult to trace her and to find her. She hesitates for a moment, but decides to keep the car where it is. She's a few blocks away from the place so quite safe for now, especially since she's hidden from any camera, but moving could draw attention to her.

What she does however, is to drop the snoop; then to change her icon to a generic one. With a bit of luck, they won't realise someone heard all of that, especially if she doesn't erase the mark immediately, which would be the natural reaction of most everyone listening in. Plus, she wouldn't be able to listen about anything interesting now. The simple fact that they try to trace her, and are not rebooting the 'link right now, reinforces her guess. If they thought it was something too dangerous, they probably would have rebooted. Good thing she only put a single mark... Plus, there are many hackers in the vicinity of the barrier. It's quite likely not the first time it happened.

Even if she's running silent, odds are they will try to look around the building even without the trace, and could then find her. To avoid that she moves away in the Matrix. As she's moving, she sends to Arsène {They're trying to trace me, it will take them some time, but I can't stay around. If you can, stay a few blocks away near the main road to retrieve the data on the trucks. Don't take too many risks though there are a lot of hackers around here but you never know, they might just attack everyone hopping to get lucky. Odds are I'll be able to get the data later when the trucks are back in their yard anyway. Though I'd be pissed if that were not the case... It's better than anyone hurting, at this point it would only confirm what I suspect.}

She hesitates for a moment about what she should do now. She will have to warn some people, but right now... With a smile, she decides to go to a Data Haven Host well known to hackers, one where she knows there are no records kept of the people coming in or out of the Host, and a big traffic. Once in the Host, she drops back into AR, studying what she can do to better hide her car. She will stay in AR in the Host for fifteen minutes, before dropping the Mark she has on the Captain's link: the trail will lead to the Host and nothing more. Right now, she really enjoys her newfound speed, that allows her to do all this very quickly.

While she waits, she sends a few messages:
- To Eugène first: >>Alright, you were right, Roger is a bad guy. One that killed other hackers recently and has your address, so be careful. Especially since he doesn't think he can recruit you.<<
- To Tanya next: >>I don't know - yet - about the mercenaries, but I'm pretty sure I found the base of the bad guys. I'll know more in twenty minutes I think. Well, if they don't catch me first of course.<<
After some hesitation, she sends a message on the conversation she hacked when she first got here >>Something happened in the building, they're looking for the culprit. I wouldn't stay around if I were you.<< then immediately drops that mark. She's not too sure if she did this to warn them, or just to have them flee and make things more difficult for the people trying to find her but...Well, catching fleeing people in the matrix in not easy if you don't have any marks on them so they'll be safe with a headstart.

Then, since she has quite a bit of time, she sends a fourth message to Neil Tiploft, the dude she goes to when she has paydata to sell. She makes a list of everything she has to sell which she joins in the message.
- >>Hey Neil, how do you do? Listen, I found a few things in the 'trix these past few days that could interest your clients. I'm joining the list, let me know when you have buyers lined up, I'll send the rest.<<
She doesn't have long to wait before she hears back from Neil.
- >>Holy frag, who did you rob to get all that?<<
- Cynthia snorts >>Rob? What a bad word, and not even a hello, I may go see someone else you know. I just went here and there, picking stuff on the ground, so to speak, you know how it is.<<
- >>As if I'll believe any of that. Anyway, you know my share.<<
- >>Yeah, yeah, ten percent.<<
- >>Always a pleasure doing business with you. I'll contact you when I have buyers lined up. From what I see, you're about to get rich.<<
- >>We'll see. Talk to you later.<<

While she waits, she starts to read stuff about how small combat units work. It may not help much, but well... You never know, she could be able to predict what the mercenaries would do on the field with that.



I'm going on the assumption that tracing a mark takes at least half an hour and very probably a lot more than that, as per the Trackback action (Data Trail p179). If you want to use something different, Cynthia will of course go much faster than she does ^^
Cynthia has the Knowledge skill Data Haven (North America) at 4 to help select the right Host.
Sneaking (Urban): 7d6t5 3 to make sure the car is well hidden from view.
The small unit thing is that I'll buy some points in the skill Small Unit Tactic. Not sure it'll be useful but it can't hurt. And since Cynthia would be in a matrix overwatch position anyway, it could be something nice to have for the others.

From Eugene: >>Are you sure? You seemed pretty unsure earlier. What have you found and what is this about killing hackers? Does that mean you are not safe? Tell me where you are.<<

From Tanya: >>Are you safe? Do you need me to come get you?<<

From the unknown hacker: >>Wha? Who is this? Thanks for the warning, but why?<<

You must be right about hiding in the Data Haven because you do not seem to be the focus of anyone in particular.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #404

To Eugène: >>Yes I'm sure. I heard him say it himself. And you should ask where I am or even better, if I need help, not demanding I tell you. Humpf.<<

To Tanya: >>That's a complicated question. They didn't trace me, and I made sure to leave them in a place where they won't learn anything. So in the very short term, yes. In the middle term, I...don't know? I'm parked a few blocks away and well hidden, so they shouldn't be able to find me. But if I move too soon, they might find me. Especially since someone there knows me.<< She eats a bit of her bread >>Good thing I have my bread. Though I could do with a juice... Anyway, as for long term... Well, they know who I am and where I live. So I guess not. Good point for now is that they don't know I know they know, so they're probably in no hurry to target me specifically. And that may allow us to catch one of their guys who is quite high in their hierarchy if I understood right. If you want to anyway, I know how to use a riffle but the less I have to use one, the happier I am.<<

And she doesn't answer to the unknown hacker*.

She sends a message to Arsène though: {Everything alright? Did you see what happened or the trucks?}



*: especially considering that she dropped her mark after she hacked her message in the conversation. I suppose it's possible the answer came between her own message and the drop of the mark, but she doesn't want to send anything with her comcode attached. Which means she can't answer, and the hacker can't talk to her anymore.

>>Frag, woman. You are very clever but you can be infuriating at times. Very well, I apologize. Please tell me where you are and would you like me to come get you?<<

>>I would of course be interested in grabbing one of their rankers. Do you have a plan?<<

{I did, Cherie, oui. Should I come to your location and show you what I got? As for the activity, the sensors on the trucks waiting to have the driver swapped picked up some three men leaving the building and getting into the car, which drove away back toward the city.}

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #405

Cynthia first answers to Arsène {Awesome, well done! If they left it should be ok, I want to see that. Especially if there's what I hope there is.}

Then to Tanya >>Uh... No? I know him, he knows me, and I know how to contact him. In fact, I was more or less supposed to meet him in the afternoon but uh... You know that I'm a terrible liar right? Well I mean, I'm an inventive liar. But I never seem to be able to make anyone believe what I say...<<

She let's Eugène stew a bit, then answers >>It's alright, danger has passed I think. I'll stay where I am for an hour or so, I'll take a nap once I've reviewed what I found, then I'll go back in town. Oh and please, don't do anything out of the ordinary regarding Roger. Oh and you should take care of yourself, he has decided you couldn't be used and had to be removed. And maybe warn Sophie to keep an eye open over there... If they want to take you out, and since they know where you live, who knows who they'll send there and what they'll do...<<

Arsene links you the videos as he slips up next to you. You have two of the trucks fitted with your new programs and both seem to work well. The sensors shut off as normal but some thirty seconds later they turn back on and you are looking out at the construction site from the viewpoint of the trucks. These two are both of the flatbed type so they follow the same route, heading down into a huge pit in the ground. You are not an engineer, but the size of the hole seems a bit excessive for what the building is supposed to look like. The road descends about two hundred feet to the flat bottom and you see four large tunnels bored into the side of the pit, with dirt movers moving in and out in a steady stream to fill the large side dumpers waiting in lines at each tunnel. Your trucks go to a central location on the pit floor and your loads are offloaded by crane and forklift to be piled alongside stacks of construction materials. Rails are being laid into each tunnel and as you watch, small engines push flatbed rail cars up to one or more of the stacks and are loaded to be pulled back down the tunnels. All too soon, your trucks are unloaded and begin the route back up out of the pit, but you do note that the line of trucks just keeps feeding the pit. Security is evident, with groups of five armed and armored men accompanied by dogs roaming over the pit bottom.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #406

Cynthia thanks Arsène, then after reviewing the video sighs {No mercenaries. That was not what I was hopping for... Oh well. This looks like a future metro station. Or underground trains... Anyway, thanks for the help, I'll just leave this place, eat a bit and take a nap, so there's no use keeping you around, I'll see you later.}

With that she dismisses Arsène. She makes sure no one is paying attention to her in the matrix, then has a car take her to the nearest 'Shack, where she buys a drink to go with her bread. As she eats, she sends a new message to Tanya.

Then to Tanya >>I didn't find the mercenaries in the end. But what looks like a future metro or train station...<<

Arsene thanks you and vanishes back to the resonance and you are left to wonder about tunnels and tones of construction materials. Tahya contacts you while you are at the 'Shack, which by the way, has a good selection of juices. >>Hey there, thanks for keeping me informed. So why is this guy you are talking about killing hackers if this is just a metro station? Provided he is not just bloviating, there must be something else going on. Are you going to meet him this afternoon?<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #407

As she purchases her juice - and uses the restroom since she's here - Cynthia answers to Tanya >>Well, it's a secret rail station for one. One they're not supposed to be building here, it's supposed to be the "Goldstein Building", not a rail station. Plus, they have a lot of security, in full armours and quite a bit of hardware to go with it. As for Roger, I don't think it's directly related to the station. I'll join the recording, see for yourself.<<

OOC: Are you sending her both recordings? The sound one from Roger and the visual one from the truck in the pit?

Not yet for the trucks, Cynthia wants to higlight some stuff first: what kind of weapons they have, grenades, sidearm for example, but also based on the pattern of their movements how many guards there are at least, based on the number of trucks that already transported stuff and the dimensions of the cave and the tunnels, what is their total length, plus, based on steering angles, in what direction said tunnels go.

Most of this she can do quickly, but I'm not sure it would be fast enough for Cynthia to be ready to send that right now. Unless you consider she did just that while she was hiding I suppose, in which case Cynthia sends all of that too.

You can gather your thoughts on the feed collected from the trucks while you send her the audio recording from the building Roger had gone to. You have not sure how many trucks have come and gone, but you estimate that at least one every fifteen minutes during the time that you were observing the activity at the site. A count of the number of guards at either the top security station of down in the pit is difficult. The truck sensors are only so good and you see three teams of men and dogs on the floor of the pit and additional teams at each of the tunnels, but it is likely that you did not see everything. The tunnels are roughly at the cardinal points (N, S, E, & W) and are wide enough for the narrow gauge rail line in the middle with a wide truck lane on each side and a pedestrian lane to the left wall of each tunnel. From your point of view, it would be impossible to estimate the length of the tunnels. It is obvious that some work is ongoing to shore up the tunnels with stone sidings.

Tanya gets back to you. >>So this sounds more and more like a military thing and it seems like this Roger friend of yours is a major in their organization. And this major seems to have more power and influence than the colonel he was talking to. I would indeed love to get my hands on him, but I do not have a good idea of how to do that at this time. In light of what you had said earlier, I would like to send someone to look at your apartment, so please consider letting me do that, unless you wish to take care of that?<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #408

As she washes her hands, Cynthia answers >>I don't mind. If the bad guys know where I leave, there's no harm in you doing that. And it's not like there's much to hide. Well, except a weapon that is...<< She shrugs, looking at herself in the mirror for a second, then adds >>As for Roger I don't know. I could always tell him I'll meet him where we planned to, but... I'm not too comfortable doing that... Though of course, if I don't meet him today, I won't have much of an excuse tomorrow, so... Oh, and here's the rest of what I found.<< Cynthia sends some images of the cave which allow to get a good idea of what's down there. She also sends her summary of her findings.

>>Well, you have certainly given me something to look at, Cynthia. Thank you. And my advice, for what it is worth, is to stay away from Roger today as well as your place. I could offer you a room with me tonight if you like?<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #409

Paying her two juices, Cynthia answers >>I don't know. For now, I'll tell him that what I was doing took longer than expecting, but since it's a paying gig, I can't really let it go away for just a curiosity thing. But if they don't know you're onto them, I don't see any reason to bring them to you... I suppose I can take a room in a motel tonight. Though I don't know how I could justify that...<<

>>You could go back to Cajun Town, I suppose. In any case it is your decision. I will send someone around to look into your place and get back to you.<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #410

>>Alright. I'll try to find Tanaka for now, I'll think about all that later.<<

Back in her car, Cynthia tells it to go in Downtown, just driving around for an hour or so, while she takes a nap. When she wakes up, her goal is to find Tanaka. Now, she can't do much just with his commcode. But maybe she can do the same thing she tried with Barbara. The main thing that made this plan fail with Barbara was that she made the packert herself. If, instead of crafting a fake packet, she finds a real one and follows it, she would have much more chance to get to the final destination.

So first, Cyntha will try to find a service to which Tanaka is subscribed, probably some news service. She would have to look at the list of their clients to find his commcode, but it shouldn't be impossible. To do that, she'll have Sherlock help her: he can help to eliminate some of the less likely sources for example.



Cynthia looks for subscription services the Yakusa in general are "known" to use. Making sure she's looking into reasonable sources, and not the blog of a teenager fan of the Yakuza.
Data Search (Sherlock): 8d6t5 3
Data Search (+2VR, +3 Sherlock): 19d6t5 7 (limit is 7)

Once she has identified some of the services where Tanaka is likely to be suscribed, she hacks their hosts, finds their list of subscribers, and looks for Tanaka's commcode.
Hack on the Fly (Sherlock): 8d6t5 3
Hack on the Fly (+2VR, +3 Sherlock): 20d6t5 5 (limit would be 6)
Matrix Perception (TM+2, VR+2): 16d6t5 5

After some looking around, you hit on a specific Japanese language news service that has his comcode as a subscriber. It also strikes you that Tanya has provided you with his address, so you have two avenues of approach.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #411

Cynthia keeps the information regarding the Japanese news service in a corner, then looks at the address, in the matrix first, to get an idea of the type of location it is. She doesn't want to drive right into a ghetto or anything after all...

Tanaka's address puts him square in Little Japan; a part of Seattle that is culturally and ethnically aligned with the large Japanese population. It is also rumored to be the home stomping grounds of the Yakuza in Seattle.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #412

Given that there are probably many restaurants and motels in the area, Cynthia will try to find a parking where she can put her car, in a one hundred meters radius from the home of Tanaka. While he probably isn't home at the moment, she can at least familiarise herself with his house, its defences, and maybe learn more from the people there. Or their 'links anyway.

On the way, she will buy a scarf to put on her hair, the idea being that a redhead is probably more easily recognisable than a girl with a scarf.



Area Knowledge: Seattle: 10d6t5 6 (limit is 6)
Sneaking (Urban): 7d6t5 1 to avoid drawing too much attention to herself.

Unfortunately, the closest public parking lot you are going to find is about a mile from Tanaka's address. He lives inside a gated community near the center of Little Japan and the public restaurants and motels are in a ring encircling the compound, along with what might be called a middle class community. This ring of public restaurants, nightclubs, motels, and modest homes or apartments is a tourist haven, much like the open and public places of Chinatown. There is a seedier section as well, farther out and closer to the edges, where one can find the brothels, drug dens,and bunraku parlors. It is said that in some of these places, it is entirely possible to get a "companion" of any type you can imagine and that he or she will have the exact personality that you wish to pay for. There have even been whispers that, for a price, one can hire one of these companions and kill them when you are done using them.

You are able to find a secure parking facility in the public area and step out on the street into a crowd of tourists and locals and neon lights. The building next to the parking garage is crowded with people and the sound of little metal balls falling through spikes is a constant roar, along with the occasional cheer as someone wins one of the games.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #413

Not exactly what Cynthia had hoped for, but for a first reconnaissance, it'll do. She'll go to one of the restaurants not too far from the gate of the central community. Since it's probably a bit far - and she won't really be able to get into VR - she won't find as much as she wants, but given the probable amount of cameras in the vicinity, she hopes to be able to identify Tanaka's car, and maybe get a feel for his agenda, to find some place where she would be reasonably sure he is. And not in the middle of this community...



Data Search: 14d6t5 3

There are indeed lots of cameras about and a quick search points out a number close to you. The first two you try to hack seem pretty easy to control, but you find that neither has any field of view into the gated area, even if you try to have it rotate its view. Apparently, there is a physical barrier that prevents the camera to reorient to give that point of view. Perhaps the Yaks like their security.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #414

Cynthia grunts. So much for the easy way. Still, there is another possibility. And that, is to use the tourism in the place. Going into social media, she will look into the pictures tagged as having been taken in the gate area. Organising them by date, she'll try to reconstruct a film of the past few days. It's not the straightest route, but she will probably be able to see all she needs to start.

Oooooh. Social media! Yes. much can be done with social media, but even with Sherlock helping you, this will take a long time. While you are busy looking at various sites, you get a message from Roger. >>Hey there. Are we still on for today? I had thought that you would be here by now. Are you OK?<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #415

Cynthia gets into a bit of paranoia mode, and makes sure she's not marked, tagged, followed or anything, which includes her car >>Uh yeah? What time? Oh, sorry... Uh probably not today then, took longer than I expected... But since it's a paying gig, I can't really say no just to go after something I'm curious about, curiosity doesn't pay the bills after all.<< She lets a few seconds go by then adds >>Speaking of which, did you hear about your buddy regarding a good agent? Oh and I forgot to ask, did you manage to clean the footage in the end?<<

>>That is a disappointment as I had hoped to see you again, but I understand your motivation. Perhaps tomorrow? You have my com code so call me when you think you will be able to do this. I think I am going to concentrate my efforts on the Colombian connection.<<

OOC: I think that someone else was looking for the agent and was trying to clean up the images for you. Or do I have that wrong?

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #416

>>Definitely tomorrow yeah. Though things seem calmer now, at least in Seattle. Maybe whatever that was going on is done, no?<<



Yep, I asked Roger for the cleaning of the footage as soon as I got it. And for the agent 24h earlier, and he said he would have a friend look into it. Of course, now that she knows more about Roger, Cynthia is not hoping for anything regarding the footage, and probably won't use the Agent, but she still has to ask...

Roger continues in answer to your question. >>Sure, I actually got the video cleaned up. Some good stuff, but it may be out of date now. The mercenaries were looking for a crippled girl and her two companions; a man and a woman. One of the people they are questioning is telling them that they may be hiding in one of the Vory neighborhoods. Even though now the fighting is over, it does seem as if that information might have been correct. I have an independent source telling me that these three people have been seen in the company of the Bratva boss from the area. So, not sure if this helps or not and sorry that it took so long.<<

>>But on a better note, I have contacted my friend and he can set you up with a decent agent. Let me know if you are still interested and I will forward your com code to him.<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #417

>>Bah don't worry. It's not like I really need to find them or anything. It's just a game after all. Plus, when a game is too easy, it's not fun anymore. As for the agent, yeah I could still use one, so I'll take the commcode, thanks. I'll be in the Digital tomorrow morning, see you there?<<

>>Sure. I can give you his code if it makes you feel better. Attaching it here. And great to hear you will be here in the morning. I usually get here for breakfast, but come when you can.<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #418

>>Will do.<<

After that, she resumes her work. After a few minutes - once again checking nothing or no one is paying undue attention to her - she sends a new message to Tanya >>Roger will be at a bar/restaurant called the Digital tomorrow for breakfast. Well, if he believed what I just told him anyway...<<

>>Thank you Cynthia. I will have someone on it. And, you should probably find an alternative place to stay for a bit as your place is being watched. I do not have the assets at my control to watch everyone, so please be careful.<<

You seem to be clear of marks and no one is watching you. The compilation of tagged photos from the myriad of social networking sites is ongoing, but will take some time.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #419

>>I'll find some place to go I suppose. I could still go to the Cajun Town, but... Well, they also know where Eugène stays, so it would probably only convince them to bring bigger toys to the party...<<

After a couple of minutes, bored by her work, she decides to let Sherlock doing the social media work, while she goes to check on the other angle. In the Japanese news service, she looks into the delivery schedule, to know when the next one will take place.

The Japanese-language news service is an on-line thing and as a subscriber, Tanaka has the ability to log on and screen or download news whenever he desires.

>>You are probably correct about that, but it might be easier to protect the two of you in one place than in different places. Still, this is your choice to make. How is your investigation coming?<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #420

>>I suppose I'll go there then. Since I even thought about moving there once and for all anyway, one more night can't hurt. I'll warn Eugène. Or at least, ask him to warn Sophie and ask her if it's okay. Its their place after all.<<

After a few seconds, she adds with a sigh >>As for the "investigation"... Could be worse. His home won't tell me anything for now, too protected for me to be sure I'm doing things discreetly enough to not raise any alarm. I have another idea, which I'm pretty sure could work and would allow me to get into his 'link. Or at least one of his 'link. But I have no control about the "when", which is kinda bad.<<

Since it's under the control of Tanaka, there probably are some news packages prepared, regularly updated, and ready to be sent to him. In which case, Cynthia will introduce a small worm, deeply hidden, that she will be able to follow to Tanaka's 'link. If the service works with a generic package, Cynthia will prepare the worm and hack to Host to modify the sending process to Tanaka, such that it will put the worm into the package as it sends it.



Hack on the fly: 15d6t5 8