In the Family

In the Family
Part of It's a Small Underworld After All
Date 2084-02-15 GM Keeper M Location Miami, Caribbean League Status Threat Level: Deadly
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Alligator Jack Naomi Fisk Elle Palms Chantal Houellebecq	Gabe Bryant
Blackhawk Eidolon GoldNugget Mokumokuren	Gabe Bryant
Casualties and losses
None	None (Minor Drug Theft to Redirect Heat)
This was played out in a thread in the PBP channel on the Discord server.

Summary

Family drama among affluent national SINners in the sunny Miami, Caribbean League. The death of the father creates an opening for his son, a black sheep, to manoeuvre against his mother and sister in an attempt to seize full control of the family corporation. ShadowHaven runners foil the plan, however.

Background

Mrs Johnson, Irma Beatty, needs runners to steal the deed to CoolCo Inc., an AC-producing corporation started by the parents, back from her twin brother, Gabe Bryant, who, after the passing of Mr Bryant Senior, schemes to cut her and their mother out to take full control of it. If Gabe stays in possession of the deed, the rest of the family will go bankrupt in a couple of months. Gabe has serious contacts in the underworld of Miami, including the Zobop outfit of House Trafficante through his best friend, Tajo Arce, and his own Pearls Modelling Agency, a front for first-class callgirls. Irma can tell he could easily find out if she tried to recruit in-house. That's why she hires the runners.

The Meet

The team originally consisting of Blackhawk, Eidolon and GoldNugget travels from Seattle to Tampa with smuggler help to meet with Mrs Johnson. The situation is explained, with the runners agreeing Gabe is a piece of work and deserves a taste of his own medicine. Irma, extremely grateful, connects them with Alligator Jack, a pirate-themed smuggler not in bed with Gabe, to reach Miami without him or customs knowing.

The Plan

Working out of a currently vacant researcher hut in the EVO Renewal Zone, the three hatch a plan to case the area of North Beach where Gabe stays during the times he's in Miami by renting out a Samuvani Criscraft Otter from Alligator Jack. They analyse the city plans, confirming that an escape by the Normandy Ghost Town E-zone would be helpful. Eidolon also subcontracts Mokumokuren for Matrix overwatch and dealing with the host protecting the row of seven private bungalows.

The Run

Legwork is gathered vicariously. During the day, Eidolon drops Goldnugget in North Beach, posing as tourists gone boating, to work his face magic from land while he checks the bungalow out through binoculars from the boat at range. The two confirm the presence of cameras, walls, drones and 24/7 security guards. Goldnugget talks the mundane guard into suggesting where he could arrange for "adult company" and receives the commcode to the Pearls Modelling Agency. Through Naomi Fisk, he learns of Gabe's underworld contacts, the friendship with Tajo Arce and the links with the Zobop. At night, Blackhawk takes the boat to look at the magical defences, noting three bound spirits, one materialised, wards and the fact the senior guard is Aware. He also notes the temporary blind spots of the cameras and the reflection on an incorrectly-curtained window, leading to noticing a calling card to the modelling agency. In addition, he overhears the mundane guard complaining about having to check tires of the three luxury cars in the garage adjacent to the guardhouse, with the Aware night guard, Elle Palms, noting Tajo and Gabe are piano nuts. The cleaning help is explicitly forbidden from touching the piano, whereas the maintenance worker is yet to come to fix a bedroom window which doesn't close properly. Thus, with the runners exchanging intel, they suspect the window is a better entrance point than the doors and that the piano can open the hidden route to the vault.

The following day, Eidolon subcontracts Mokumokuren to investigate the host responsible for automated defences of the bungalows. The decker agrees, cutting through the noise and locating it. It's no walk in the park as it first notices him, requiring him to reboot. However, the next try confirms the cameras, drones and devices of the guards. Between the seven bungalows, he also finds useful paydata. The failure to locate the vault security implies the existence of a nested host dedicated solely to it.

Equipped with all this information, the plan takes its final shape and is carried out. After dark, Goldnugget is dropped off in North Beach to pretend to be drunk and distract the night guards, which he does, also getting Elle's number in the process. We wish the potential relationship luck. At this time, Blackhawk and Eidolon leave the boat some distance from the bungalow on the opposite side of the artificial peninsula and, wearing gloves to avoid fingerprints, quietly swim to the northern edge, where the private marina (and the materialised water spirit in the swimming pool) can be found. They successfully sneak past and enter through the malfunctioning window, finding themselves in the bedroom. There, they gather Gabe's hair (for future ritual samples), find his dead tree ledgers documenting money from assorted illegal forces (which they photograph) and discover a photograph of Nonna, a vodoun mage and supplier of House Trafficante. Eidolon has the cunning idea of collecting a few doses of drugs found in the bedroom in order to fake a drug-motivated robbery, which Blackhawk assists him with faking. They then proceed to the living room, play the following notes - G-A-B-E - on the piano, opening the hidden entrance to the vault (concealed under the coffee table). Blackhawk assenses into the stairwell and uses Dual-Natured Defender to bypass the ward there. Next, both men make their way downstairs, using Gymnastics to avoid the lasers and motion sensors. The deed found, paintings from high-profile art thefts from a few months earlier and pearls photographed, they successfully exfiltrate. Goldnugget arranges a meeting for dinner/lunch with Elle and starts heading off. They reunite on the opposite end of the peninsula and leave the area by sea.

Aftermath

The runners were highly focused on breaking and entering like "Ocean's Eleven". Their planning and successful carrying out of the plan results in Mrs Johnson being extremely grateful, paying, connecting them with Chantal Houellebecq, her friend in EVO Miami, and praising their names. Pieces to pick up range from Eidolon's deltaware plans through Mokumokuren's paydata and Rat approving of Blackhawk to Goldnugget making a lady friend or two.

Rewards

20 RVP x 1.5 multiplier = 30 RVP total (gear rates on what Chantal and Pierre can sell available if Chantal is purchased)

• Alligator Jack at 4/2 (-5 RVP) <= can spend RVP or CDP for Loyalty 3 out of the box
• 2 CDP
• 1 Street Cred

Optionals:

• Eidolon can buy Catlike, Natural Athlete or both
• Goldnugget can buy Alibi, Trustworthy or both
• Blackhawk can buy Natural Athlete, Chosen Follower (Rat) or both <= GM is Thematics and approves this
• Mokumokuren can buy Deck Builder, Impenetrable Logic or both
• All can buy Perceptive
• Chantal Houellebecq at 6/1 (-6 RVP) <= Eidolon can spend RVP or CDP for Loyalty 2 out of the box
• Elle Palms at 4/2 (-5 RVP) <= Goldnugget can spend RVP or CDP for Loyalty 3 out of the box
• Naomi Fisk at 3/2 (-4 RVP) <= Goldnugget can spend RVP or CDP for Loyalty 3 out of the box
• According to initiation and mundane mastery cooldowns, initiation discounts and mundane masteries
• Incriminating evidence on Gabe Bryant and limited intelligence on Tajo Arce and Nonna, potentially useful for future runs

Game Quotes

"Oh, you want know Tsing Tao? I tell you about Tsing Tao! …You really pretty…" - Goldnugget

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Blackhawk

Then... never stop coming. Everywhere I look they are there. Tied in small and large ways. If the client was not explicit the bastard would be dead with a full clip of whatever in his skull. But I got some semblence of honor and... despite it all I still remember what is is like to have a family.

Eidolon

Miami was quite the trip for the job, but fortunately travel isn't all that pricy via gridlink when needed. The job could have gotten complicated quickly, but the team was able to handle the physical aspects keenly, with a minimal need for matrix overwatch, though our subcontracted decker's legwork was quite valuable in simplifying things.

Mokumokuren

First official gig with the 'have and it's a remote job. Nothin' I can't handle though, just synced up my satphone, found a safe enough physical locale so my actual apartment didn't get swatted in case drek went sideways... a bit of poking and the Host let me right in to pick out those lovely little secrets. Nice payday too.