Anna replies "Well I already accurately tossed a grenade today, so I should be able to do so again. I did cheat with magic though I hoped that I was not so obvious. Do you want to give me the grenade?"

"All right. Grenade goes to Anna. Don't kill us. Who's got the zappers? I will bring my rotodrone, but I'll focus on the van. Wraith, Anna, will you go mundane or Perceiving? Nova, Shark, what's your choice of arms in there?"

Nova shrugged. "Shotgun and the sidearm with Stick'n'Shock for the guy we want alive?"

"If I bring a weapon, it will be my bow and quiver. Otherwise, I'll just go 'unarmed'."

Anna replies "I think I'll go mundane, but have a spirit knock down the hounds from the astral. "

"Okay, but keep it far away or on the metas as long as we don't engage.
All right, we ready to go?"

"Hold on a moment" Anna said and closed her eyes for a brief moment. She took a deep breath and tried not to move her fingers much as she cast a spell to augment her resolve. Conjuring usually works well, but it is unpredictable, and Anna wanted to be ready. Next came the conjuring, a beacon in the void seeking for help. Her spirit was there, he looked like a mage from the trids, and he kind of reminded Anna of Karl Combat mage. Or of the actor that played him, it was nice of the spirit to take homage to a show Anna liked, and so Anna named him Karl.

Anna was proud to have summoned it. "I'll keep Karl in the car with us until we need him, I think that he has a few surprises for us. She says.

"Mundane as well, as little astral activity as possible.", Wraith approved while putting on his armor jacket.
He grinned after Anna called her spirit "Karl". "So ka. Having two spirits on our side should be quite a boon. I'll ask this one to help you with the hounds." , and he nodded towards the Spirit of Air he had summoned before she went scouting.
"Actually... perhaps to take out that watcher first. Even if it can't hurt us, it could still assense us."

He nodded at bnc's question.

Nova smiled. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we still need to hijack that van first... and get those drivers out."

Anna replies "Let's make a quick plan of our strategy... Worst case it does not play out that way.
First, how do we stop the van? Second, how do we disable the driver and his friend without a warning? Third, perhaps you want me to scout the ambush site as well? I am not sure what I can sense from the astral, but I can feel the place for background counts, or possible witnesses. "

"Okay, let's go over it again..."

"We prepare the site with our car parked across the street, blocking it, so it looks like the corner was taken too fast and it got out of control. Van has to slow down, anyways, hopefully even more that way. If they don't slow down enough, we have to use the Zapper rounds to kill the engine. You two get your spirits inside and make the drivers come out. Then we overwhelm them, keeping one conscious for Wraith to work his magic and find out about their protocols. In the meantime, bnc watches any transmissions and prevents them from calling for help."

"Alright, let's do so..." she says.

"Sounds good.

Before we get to set on our plans, we should see this place for our own eyes and make we can find good places for us to hide before we pearl harbor them."

The team went to the ambush point. The road was on one side open to fields while on the other side screened by thick woods and underbrush. The narrow tar road had just enough space for two vehicles to pass each other. The sharp bend was screened on both sides with thick vegetation. A traffic sign suggested not to go beyond 30 km/h and warned of the sharp bend as well.

It had begun to snow again and a fine coating had begun to form everywhere but the road, where enough salt had been strewn to prevent freezing.

"I'm beginning to think that you're only a chaos mage because you can't remember any plans... Sure, for God's sake, go scout the site."

at the site

bnc lets the team out at a point roughly 500 m from the spot where the ambush is planned lest their footprints on the fresh snow could give them away. When she's the only one in the van - James is with the team, too - she drives down the road, lets the van topple over the edge of the street and kills the engine. The van blocks the whole road as it skidded to a side.

Anna replies"Nonsense I was like that before I even awakened. I will tell you why I am a chaos mage when we have time and do not need to capture a BTL facility." Once there Anna takes an astral look of the surrounding and asses the magical conditions. When she finishes, she sees the car and suggests "Do you want me to paint one of us as wounded? A damsel in distress perhaps?" she suggests.

"I wouldn't assumed some distressed person is going to draw heat from this crowd. The van blocking the road should be enough."

Sharkboy put on his full suit and gloves, picked up his bow and quiver and headed out into the snow. "Nova, let's find a spot to hide on the driver's side. If Wraith's spirit and the parked van don't stop him, it will be our job to knock him out and then help get the rest."

"Shouldn't be a problem. There is plenty of vegetation here," Nova said, agreeing with Sharkboys suggestion.

She was wearing her mask and her other armor pieces over her nice suit and carrying the shotgun (with Zapper rounds loaded) in hand and her sniper rifle on the back, just in case a silenced weapon was required. Her sidearm was resting in her hidden holster (loaded with Stick'n'Shock).

"It doesn't need to be that realistic. It's just supposed to make them halt. Once we have them, it'll be quite obvious anyway. We only need five seconds, really."

bnc remains in the car where it's nice and warm while the others stand in the cold of the night, shivering to wind and snowfall. She has her deck running silent but goes full hot-sim VR to react instantaneously at any signs of matrix activity.

Anna asks Nova and the Shark "Do you want invisibility?"

Finally, the sound of a single vehicle could be heard. It whined a bit as the driver shifted down to slow down in the bend, that forced him to make close to a 120° turn. It slowed even sharper as the team's rented car came into view. The driver even activated the emergency lights.
bnc noticed a commlink coming online, but thanks to her being ready for it, she got a MARK and a Squelch out even before the first update prompt had finished playing on the man's display inside the van.
Even better, the passenger side of the van opened and a man in a security service uniform stepped out to take a look at the scene, carrying a first aid kit while his gun was still safely holstered.

Before Ambush
Anna positioned herself in the bush near the car, invisible and with a bit of mundane disguise to make her blend into the surrounding. Her pistol was loaded with gel rounds, that were not potent enough to damage the car, but could help disable the drivers. If Nova and Shark want to she'll cast the invisibility spell on them and help them assimilate into the ambush.



During Ambush
]Anna orders Karl to materialize at 0, and then texts a count down to Wraith. >> Wraith Materialize the spirit on 0. 3...2...1...0!. Once the countdown ends, Karl materializes and influences the driver to: "get out of the car, sneak after your friend, and toss snowballs until you hit his face.

Wraith hid behind a pile of snow that the snow-clearing vehicles had amassed at the side of the road. An amused smile appeared on his face when the goon left his car with a medkit. A helper, eh? How surprisingly good of you... But one act of kindness doesn't outweigh your crimes.

He quickly texted Anna to coordinate who took which goon, then - following Anna's plan of attack - asked his bound Spirit of Guidance to make the man who stepped out of the van comply peacefully:
An angelic apparition materialized above the man in security uniform: its contours where veiled by a constant shift of light and shadow, it raised one arm in a commanding gesture at the goon and issued a telepathic message: Drop your weapons. None can evade what's bound to happen, you're just a gaming piece for the Lord's will. Accept your fate without resistance.

Before Ambush

Sharkboy moved into the bushes with Nova, hunkered down, and waited.

Ambush

As the car could be heard coming around the turn, Sharkboy strung up his bow with a barbed arrow and waited to see if anyone stepped out of the van with bad intentions.

Outside the, man received the quasi-angelic command completely surprised. With an almost unconscious gesture he opened the holster on his side and dropped the Browning inside to the ground.
His partner behind the wheel was a bit quicker on the uptake. As soon as he noticed the materializing spirits, he slammed the accelerator, aiming the heavy front of his transporter at front of the rented car, trying to shove it far enough from the street to get past.

Anna noticed that the van began moving, she acted instinctively and cast a subtle illusion of making the road appear a bit wider to the side so that there was just enough room to skillfully drive the car passed the team's van without a collision. Hopefully, she can cause the driver to overshoot and miss the team's ride and get stuck in the snow or something.

As the van started to accelerate, Nova suddenly sprung into action. "That doesn't seem right..."

There was no time to think this through, she immediately trained her Enfield at the van's motor block and fired a three-round burst at it. The booming noise from the gunshots ripped through the somewhat idyllic scenery. The shotgun didn't buckle much in the firm grip of Nova's cybernetic hands.

"Let's hope these things were worth the money..."

Curious about the result, the russian woman watched what happened next.

The rounds burst in little flashes of light and the van's engine died, taking with it the rest of the electronics inside.
The car came to a halt not 1m away from bnc inside the driver's seat.
Inside the spirit fullfilled it's command and the other guard steped out, scooping up snow and readied himself to throw it at his disarmed colleague

Sharkboy revealed himself from the bushes and quickly approached the exiting driver "Alright fuckstick, stop playing in the snow and hand us the keys. Then go sit next to your buddy. We're going to have a nice chat about how you tried to crash into a van."

"Well, that was nice..." Nova said, seemingly talking to the shotgun in her hands.

She shrugged her shoulders and trotted after the big man towards the GMC, while switching the magazine in her Enfield from Zapper to EX-Ex.

Anna remains invisible, better that these people do not see her. She first assesses the van and surrounding to see if there are magical defenses. Then she uses the commotion and moves quietly inside the van to see if there are things that may help the team.

With his weapon drawn, Wraith emerged from behind his cover.
"Hands above your head, punk.", he said as he approached the guard with the medkit, his voice deepened by the helmet and his Ares Predator aimed at the man.
"And no sudden movements - would be a shame to mess up that pretty uniform.", he added and quickly picked up the gun that the guard had dropped. Then he steered the man towards the rest of the group.

With a nod, he let his spirit return to the astral plane before the guard could take a closer look at the spirit and potentially identify Wraith as a Christian mage.

Both complied, raising their hands over their head and kneeling on the asphalt. The driver spoke: "There is no reason to use violence. The keys are in the ignition. We are cooperating."
Both men looked fit but had no sign of magic on them. Likewise, the van was not in anyway protected or tainted by magic.

The two men wore identical uniforms of a local security firm.

bnc, who has already started the engine to get away quickly, freezes in her virtual control room, breathes for a second when the van comes to a halt.
Good ghoul, had the right backup for the right moment. Son of a bitch.
She checks again for icons, then releases one Noizquito to scout the area for any unsuspected surprises.

Nova had just arrived at the scene. As it looked, everything was well under control. She let her shotgun sink, so it pointed to the ground, holding the grip casually in one hand.

"Well, then. Cooperate! How about dropping any weapons and communication equipment you have on you, for starters."

"Good work with the snowballs Karl... you have a devious mind" Anna thinks at her spirit and then quietly makes her way to the van, "It's me" she says to bnc since Anna is invisible. The young mage chills out and watches the show. She texts bnc >> This was a close one, how do you feel honey?

Following Nova's instructions, the two security workers carefully and slowly dropped their respective commlinks on the ground after switching them off. The two guns followed.
Both seemed to have received some kind of training how to deal with such a situation, as they remained calm and non-threatening.

"You are well-trained. Good. Then I don't need to explain everything. Right now, we have no reason to harm you. So, let's keep it that way, okay? I'm sure you will prefer to see the sun rise tomorrow. I can't promise anything, though, the weather is pretty bad, as of late. But, as I said, you won't be harmed, if you continue to cooperate."

"I'm afraid, we are not quite done here, yet. There are a few questions we would like some answers to."

<< @Team: If you guys can do anything to verify the truthfulness of their answers... please do. >>

"Who do you work for?"

"Are you the only drivers for this van, or are you taking turns? How often do you make this delivery?"

"Do you know what you are transporting? And what it is used for?"

"Once you reach your destination, the warehouse, how is the procedure from there. How do you signal your presence, how do you communicate with the others there. Run me through the whole process up to the time when you drive off again. As detailed as possible, please."

The driver answered:
"We work for Linz-Sec-Service.

The company sends us usually three times a week on this route, but there are almost every day deliveries from the airport.

According to the documentation, we are transporting simsense chips to and from the factory, but we don't have access to the strong boxes.

We don't signal anything. We arrive, the gates open and we drive backwards into the shop floor. We unlock the hatch and wait until the staff has exchanged the boxes. They close the hatch, the gate opens and we drive the delivery back to the airport, Fright Terminal D. The workers there take out the boxes and we can finish our shift."

<< @Team: That does sound pretty good, if they do not even have any contact with the people from the warehouse, it will make getting in all the easier. We mostly have to worry about their sensor suite, I guess. >>

"So, you are not affiliated with the company working out of that factory? Just an external service provider?"

"But, you're a smart kid. You do realize that these deliveries are illegal, right? Or does your company always deliver in the middle of the night with a van with changing number plates?"

"Oh, right. And is there a specific time window during which you are supposed to arrive?"

"We deliver valuable commodities. My partner and I don't have any say or knowledge about what we transport. Delivery times are determined by the arrival of the transport plane. Our plates are changeable to enable us to shake tails. All above board.

"We are expected to arrive in about 10 minutes. We have a window of about 20 minutes or we risk missing the plane transfer for the goods."

The man continued to speak calmly and without particular emotion.

Wraith's demeanor had softed visibly after realizing that their prisoners were just random hirelings and not mercenaries or part of the Crusaders' network. His body seemed less tense, but he did not lower his gun. They're just guys trying to make a living. No different than us.

@team:
<<Then we should hurry. bnc, can you get the engine to work? He seems pretty honest to me. Mindraping him might not be necessary, a little fear could suffice.>>

"You're doing good. But you do realize that we can't just trust your words alone? I fear we might have to drug you and tie you up somewhere in the area. As soon as our job is done, we'll wake you up and you can go. But if anything goes south because you lied about an important detail, or if we find anything not exactly as you described it... well, if we don't make it back from the factory, nobody can get you out of the freezing cold. Think you'll make it through the night, naked and tied down in the snow?
So... Are you 100 percent sure that what you've just told my collegue is the whole truth? No interaction whatsoever with the staff?"

bnc briskly dismisses Anna: "We can hold hands later", then gets out of the car when the driver mentions that they're due in 10 minutes.
To Raph she answers: "Ich bin der Motorenflüsterer. Er wird nicht nur anspringen, sondern mich sogar auf ihm reiten lassen."

She drives the van backwards towards the broken car, opens its trunk and the other vehicle's hood. Rubbing her hands (and wrinkling her nose), she comments: "Sheesh, the rounds did frickin' work. Carajo...", then grabs the screwdriver.



bnc grins almost instantly. "There you are, little bugger!"
She puts aside the screwdriver and applies a thin layer of lithium where it burnt through. After no more than seven seconds, she hops into the driver seat and starts the engine. "You ready, dicksuckers? If you want to get your homies nikkid, better do it fast."

The man shook his head: "please don't. I'm not paid enough to try anything stupid like that. I've told you everything I know."

bnc managed to coax the van back to live even though a bunch of warning lights blinked like a Christmas tree. But otherwise the vehicle was good to go.

"Awesome, then do you thing, Wraith, and hop in. We have a schedule."

"What thing do you mean? My point is that I don't deem mindraping him necessary. They're scared and don't look like they'd cross us to me."

"Then give them your best pair of boots but hop in anyway, for Christ's sake

<< How about we just tie them up and leave them in our car in the meantime and have it drive around here on autopilot. You can have a video-feed on them, to ensure they don't do anything stupid. Once, we are done, we release them and go our seperate ways. >>

<<Sounds good to me. We can tell them we have a spirit watching them from the astral so they don't try anything stupid
bnc, still got those restrains? Let's get it over with and then get off.>>