"I'm despising the targets who turn out to be cheaters. Those aren't the ones paying us. If anything it makes the job easier - despite the knowledge that the results of our work will be the final nail to their relationship."

<<Monday Afternoon - 18:10 - May 15, 2079 - Horse Trot Ranch, Brighton, Denver>>

It feels like an eternity, maybe because of the unease of being inside of Ghostwalker's territory now, or because of the conversational topics, but essentially the drive from the border down to the ranch does not take very long, especially with Tamarind ever so slightly going above the speed limit.

When you come up to the traditional ranch gate, you are about ten minutes late. That should be perfectly acceptable.

There is no AR here, at least nothing flashy. There are some subtle systems to register your arrival and such. The gate is open, and you drive in passing underneath a large sign that reads "Horse Trot Ranch".

You drive along the main way through a hilly landscape. The pastures and rolling hills at least appear quite natural. You can only imagine the vastness of this place. Here and there you can make out buildings, often located in a way to allow the guests some privacy.

Arriving at the main building, you see multiple stables, and some open areas with wooden fences for horse training. There is a clean smell of hay in the air.

An arabic looking man in his mid-thirties is waiting in front of one of the smaller stables. As you pull up, he walks towards the truck, waving with one arm. He shows you where you can park.

Once you get out of the car, he addresses you in a fairly heavy accent.

"Welcome, my friends. I am Hafiz. Please, come. Follow me. Mister Jarone will be speaking with you in the rear stables."

Bobby got out of the car and stretched. He looked curious around and nodded to Hafiz introduction: "Thanks. I'm Bobby, that's Mato, AM and Tamarind. Lead on."

He took a second look at the stables: "What kind of horses are you keeping here? Spanish Mustangs?"

Hafiz smiles. "Aha, someone who knows a bit about horses. Alas, no Spanish Mustangs around. They are pretty rare. We got Mustangs, and they do have some of that same blood, but are of mixed heritage. We also have Quarter Horses, Paint Horses, Arabian Horses, Appaloosas, and Thoroughbreds here."

"Quite a selection - do you breed for racing or is this all just for the tourists?"

Bobby wasn't a horse expert, but since he researched any animal that might provide him with new abilities, he was always curious to learn more.
"If we get this business done quickly, I'd like to see your Mustangs. I've got a soft spot for endurance breeds."

Tamarind had dealt with a few horse fans when she was in the Sioux military, but she'd never really seen the appeal. Expensive to maintain even when you were not using them, hard to fix, likely temperamental. But she knew that a lot of people prized them, so the size of the stables, and the variety of horses mentioned, helped emphasize the wealth in this place.

She followed along, scanning the matrix to understand how good the coverage was.

I arrive feeling a bit awed at the vast farm and horses. I am not sure what I expected, really... I didn't expect anything, but it feels so outdoorsy and vast and unsafe to think that someone was kidnapped from a place like that when it feels so ideal for such a crime.

I nod at Hafiz when Bobby introduces me, but I don't say anything else, just look around, observe the surroundings, and examine the astral and the man's aura to feel what the place feels like.

"Huh, stables," Mato muses to himself as they approach the ranch. "I wonder if they have hellhounds too." Evidently Pike Hall lingers in his memory.

His olfactory sensors pick up the scent of hay in the air. He mentally notes how different it is from Seattle. Especially, say, Redmond.

He listens to Bobby's exchange about horses. He's curious to hear if they have any Bayards here, but none are mentioned.

"I have a soft spot for Appaloosas," he admits. "A versatile breed. First horse I ever rode." He thinks for a moment. "Probably the last horse I ever rode as well."

Mato takes a moment to straighten out his clothes, which can wrinkle when sitting for extended periods. It makes him appreciate his Scout's tux, and how immune it is to stains and crumpled creases. He wonders if he can get one tailored in a different cut than a tuxedo. Seems like it should be possible, since it is also offered in an elegant evening gown. Something to investigate once they were done here.

Hafiz replies to Bobby. "Of course, yes, I am sure that can be arranged once this dreadful incident is behind us all."

His aura shows a mix of emotions, between worry and excitement. He is mundane, healthy and has light augmentations, some headware.

Looking around, AM can feel the purity of this place. Tranquility is a good term to describe the feeling.

Tamarind can connect to the Matrix as normal. The connection is not quite as fast as it could be, but reasonably good.

Mato can see no signs of hellhounds or any other awakened animals around. Of course, he has only seen a small fraction of the whole ranch. One thing, he is certain about, however, is that between AM and Rachel, most of his fashion needs can be provided.

Hafiz leads you to one of the smaller stables, the one he was waiting in front of earlier. The light is slightly dimmer inside. Jarone Falcone sits in a stainless steel wheelchair, a pretty fancy model. A sharply angled nose draws your attention to him immediately and despite - or perhaps even because of - his disability, Falcone has a practiced air of confidence that seems to overcome his inability.

"Welcome! And thank you all for coming on such short notice. I apologize if I am getting right to the point, but time is of the essence here. As you know, one of my guests was forcefully removed from the ranch this morning. I hope you can help me find him, and bring him back unharmed. For your services, I can offer you 100,000¥, twenty percent up front. The rest on delivery. How does that sound?"

Tamarind quickly messages the team <<Sounds like lots of money to me, but go do your thing. I'll try to look impassive rather than excited>>

With that she stares into the distance, thinking about how much space there is here for her drones to operate, and tries not to interfere with the negotiation.

"Tell us about the victim, circumstances and opposition first. Can't tell you a price without knowing what we are selling."
Bobby didn't sound confrontational, but he sensed a kindred soul that preferred straight talk.

Mato is privately disappointed that there aren't hellhounds.

He nods with Bobby's points.

"Yes, I think we need some more details before we get into the particulars.

"We understand that the victim was a rising star at Ares. Is there any evidence that this is a corporate extraction?

"Or was this a kidnapping? Has there been any communication with the captors? Ransom demands?"

"I cannot tell you much about who did it. We have some video footage of three people, fully masked, retreating from the ranch together with the target, who seemed to be unconscious. Lithe, slender folk. They are professionals, that's for sure. They definitely used magic, and there was a hacker in the system as well, but we have some cameras that are not tied into it directly, and they probably didn't know about those. We left the rooms as they were, you can take a closer look there, once we are in agreement. They left some hint there, but ... it is a little weird to say the least. You will see what I mean."

"As for the target. I can tell you now, that he is a mid-level executive at Ares, who was staying here on behalf of his corporation. Maybe some kind of incentive, I do not know the details, just who has booked and who is paying for his stay, which is Ares themselves, their HQ here in Denver. Pretty nervous fellow, he could really use a vacation. He was taken directly from his room during the night. Any alarm systems, which we obviously have, were disabled. I can give you more details, when we have a deal here."

"There has been a ransom demand earlier today. They threaten to make this public, which would be disastrous for me, for obvious reasons. I highly doubt, that there is another corporation behind this. It's not impossible, but very unlikely."

Bobby nodded: "How high is the ransom? And why would it be disastrous for you? Are you offering some kind of security guarantee for your guests? The corpos usually have ransom insurance for their valuable assets.

On topic, how are they contacting you and in which form do they want the money?"

"Let me get this straight," Mato says, "the ransom demand isn't for the return of the guest, but rather they are trying to blackmail you to keep this whole thing a secret?"

<<Sounds like double-dipping to me. Get paid twice: once from the Johnson and again from the Ranch.>>

"I think we should confront the possibility that this was a voluntary extraction," he continues. "If he was as wound up as you say, then maybe he saw this as an escape route, a way to leave Ares without incurring their wrath. The 'victim' hires the professionals to make it look involuntary. Perhaps he was nervous because he knew what was coming."

<<Tough to price this one. Let's see if we can leverage some of the uncertainty. In terms of opposition, we'll have to hope for the best but expect the worst.>>

I prepared for my role with the improved charisma spell because I started dreaming of a new deck, preferably without doing deals with the Mafia (again).


"Well, Mister Falcone, there is quite a lot of uncertainty in what you offer us. While I like bringing people unharmed, it is difficult to guarantee that person's current condition. Having our compensation depending on things outside our control makes this gig more expensive because it becomes essentially a gambit. Now, perhaps a gambit is a fair thing to do because your reputation is damaged if the man is injured or killed, and you pay us to save your reputation, but from our perspective, we're going to go to great lengths for something we are not sure is even winnable. We'll need some premium for that... I think that 20k upfront for our efforts and another 100k for results is a fair deal."

"Reputation is very important in this kind of business. If something like this happens and word gets out, it will definitely be noticable. The ransom note was found in our system this morning. They demand 500,000¥ to be deposited into a numbered account that is provided in the note. It's from Zurich Orbital. And they threaten to kill the hostage and actively spread word about it, if I do not pay them within 48 hours, which would be the day after tomorrow at 9 A.M."

"Of course, the 'promise' - if I were to pay - is to have the guest returned to me and all of it to go away. But that is not how these things ever work out, right?"

"So, I would rather take my chances with you!"

"I am very much aware of the uncertainty and the risks involved, which is why I am prepared to pay you quite handsomely. Also, if you can get him back, and he is in one piece, that's good enough for me."

"Alright, so 20,000¥ right now, and another 100,000¥ if you can get him back in a... let's call it reasonably good shape. I will also offer a bonus of another 20,000¥, if you can get me the names of whoever is behind the ransom."

"Are you looking for names or" - Mato thinks of the piasma claws - "trophies?"

He lets the question hang in the air for a moment.

"Just wasn't sure if you had a preference. Some folks have their own ways to send a message."

<<I think the risks are manageable.>>

<<I still like my extraction theory though. This would be a good way to fake your death so that nobody comes looking for you.>>

"I'm not looking for trophies or to send a message. I just want to know who did this, so I can maybe figure out why it happened."

Bobby nodded and responded over the team channel:

<<Let's hope it wasn't an extraction - or it will be really hard to get the abductee back.>>

To the man he said:
"Alright then, let's not waste any time. Show us the material as well as whatever else you have. Mato and I can take a look at the guys room - maybe we can get an olfactory clue.
Also, we need all information about your staff. Most often operations like this use insider knowledge - wittingly or unwittingly provided by someone working there.

Motive are in descending order:
- Money
- Lust
- Revenge

So, has anyone among your staff money troubles, got lucky dating someone out of their league or holds a grudge against you?"

Mato gives a little twitch at the last thing Falcone said.

"'So you can maybe figure out why it happened'?" Mato asks. "Meaning that you suspect a reason beyond simple profit motive?

"Are you thinking that it's possibly revenge or retribution?"

"Then we are in agreement. Very good! Hafiz will show you everything, starting with the room and any information we have on the guest. We locked the room up right away in the morning after a quick look-around, so it is mostly untouched. We figured, that we would just make things harder, if we rummage around there. I will also remain available, if there are any further questions I can help with."

To Mato, Falcone replies: "I don't know, but it is a possibility. The note, that they are not only threatening to kill him, but also making it public. It does have a personal note, don't you think?"



Hafiz then escorts you back to the car. If you have the room to spare, he will just ride along with you. It is too far to simply walk. He fills you in with some more details on the way.

The missing Ares executive's name is Jonathan Belenkiy. He is a mid-level executive and currently in charge of the R&D department for Personal Arms and Armor in Denver. The labs are at the Ares Spire, a narrow fifty-story skyscraper, located in The Hub, right at the heart of Denver.

At around 8:30 A.M. the security host was compromised, undetected. About half an hour later, Jarone Falcone found the note in the system. At this point, Belenkiy was long gone together with the kidnappers. They must have entered the ranch around 5:00 A.M., there is some camera footage from 5:25 A.M., which shows the three figures leaving, one of them carrying the target. You will get access to the video, of course. The assumption is, that the hacker was there to cover up any potential tracks, but it is not entirely clear, why there was such a time discrepancy. Maybe it was simply to deliver the note giving them enough of a headstart to vanish into the night.

Other cameras around the buildings, which are tied directly into the host, did not pick up much. Of course, the ranch is not littered with cameras, due to the privacy of the guests, but there are plenty in strategically chosen locations. Hafiz and Falcone assume, that magic was utilized, like invisibility spells, to remain undetected during the approach. They could have dropped them later, when they were far enough away from any buildings, which is why one of the autonomous cameras in the outer areas picked them up as they were leaving. Sustaining four spells for a prolonged period is quite demanding after all.

Belenkiy's suite is located in one of the guest houses, which has a total of four units, of which only one was rented at this time. Guests are being distributed among different houses as much as possible. A state-of-the-art maglock and alarm system guards the entrance, as well as any windows, Hafiz can simply unlock it, of course. Entering the main room, you see a bit of a mess, drawers have been pulled out, various pieces of clothing are all over the place. It looks like the room was searched in a hurry. The mess continues into the bathroom where cabinets have been pulled open and the contents of a toiletry bag are spilled out onto the counter.

There is a lingering smell of patchouli, a mix of earthy, woody, sweet, and musky scents.

Hafiz also points out the weird hint, that was mentioned earlier, an obsidian knife with a leather-wrapped handle sticking out of the wooden panels of the wall just above the bed, which is - naturally - also in complete disarray.

Mato nods and gets to work. He's comfortable standing in the back of the truck - he actually likes it - but can run along with his skimmers if that doesn't work.

"AM, when you get the footage, can you give us a location for those cameras? Bobby and I will want to do some tracking in that direction.

"Hafiz, can you keep the rest of the guests clear from that area, please? And can you tell us if Belenkiy was here strictly for vacation, or were there other parties here that he might have been meeting with? Does the Ranch book corporate retreats?"

Looking around the room, Mato puts his microscopic lenses and vision enhancement in his cybereyes to work. His attention co-processor starts cataloging the room. Mato examines the knife closely without touching it, and triggers his olfactory sensors too as he searches around.

"Let's see if anything obvious is missing. Perhaps they were hoping to find some R&D on his commlink. But generally those are out in the open because they're in constant use. You don't have to flip a whole room to find them. So either this mess is for show, or they were looking for something that Belenkiy would have intentionally hidden."

Mato studies the overturned bag of toiletries. Leaning down, he uses his olfactory boosters to look for traces of chemicals that might have been present in the bag. Drugs? Medicine? Hopefully if Belenkiy has a heart condition then his captors took the appropriate medicines to keep him alive for 48 hours.

Bobby let Mato look at the mundane world, while he opened his third eye - taking special interest in the obsidian dagger, but also the lingering tinge of the astral. Was there violence? Greed? Lust?

While the others went in, Tamarind opened up the travel cases of various drones, or released them from the launchers on the truck. The Kanmushis she carried inside, and sent the Aunties and Uncle flying in after them. After a moment she also sent in Stitch. Toothless she just left in place in the launcher for now.

For her larger flying drones, she sent the Pellipers flying off in the direction where the intruders (extruders?) had been spotted, to start looking for anything obvious from the air off that way. Then she asked Hafiz "Any objection to me putting a small balloon drone up over this part of the ranch, and another towards where they headed out? They are hard to spot once they are up in the air, but I understand that they could be a security concern for your guests." (she hadn't asked before sending the Pellipers, because they were easy enough to send off when nobody was paying much attention. It takes more time to deploy Lazybones and Mimic, however).

Done issues dealt with, she finally goes inside to take her own look at the room. She brings with her the excellent camera that the agency owns, and of course Beauty. She takes pictures of everything in the room, while also having Beauty record. Between the two they should be able to look back at any details. Then she says "Let me know when we can start picking things up. I want to send my drones around the room to look for any fine details that we may have missed, but that will go better if we first put away some of the more obvious things so that they are not distracted by them."

Again turning to Hafiz "I'm assuming you already checked for things like a toothbrush or hairbrush or nail clippings, that might allow magical tracing? For that matter, what magical resources do you have on site? Anything that might have had a chance of noticing astral scouting ahead of time?"

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

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

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


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



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

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


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

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

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

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

Hafiz replies to the various questions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mato helps Bobby the Wolf into his critter goggles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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