Finnigan's Wake

Finnigan's Wake
Date 2085-01-25 GM LHOG Location Seattle (Redmond) Status Threat Level: Deadly
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Finnigan Family
Neznayka Oberon Saint	Liam McAllister Finnigan Sniper Finnigan Rigger Finnigan Goons
Casualties and losses
N/A	Liam McAllister, Three Goons

Summary

"One mornin' Tim was rather full His head felt heavy, which made him shake He fell from the ladder and he broke his skull And they carried him home his corpse to wake "Finnegan's Wake" - Irish-American Folk Ballad, Original Artist Unknown

Background

Saint has a bone to pick. Saint actually has a great many bones to pick, but for the sake of this run, Saint specifically has a bone to pick with Liam McAllister - dubious Dubliner, extremely sexy sociopath, and Finnigan fight pit ringmaster extraordinaire. Liam had a dream for a fight pit above all fight pits, with a pretty face on a chrome rose as its main attraction, and he found the perfect base in the form of a recently resuscitated Saint after she was caught in a Chrome Crash IED while working for Red Ledger. He bought her off of Red Ledger and Windfall, paid for her already-partially amputated body to undergo full FLR treatment, and outfitted her with the datajack and skilljack needed to personafix her into the optimal fighter for the ring.

Three years passed, and by sheer stroke of luck, the Finns helping him in the pit managed to mishandle her personafix, allowing her to break free of its influence. The woman went on a rampage - though Liam McAllister escaped, and has since been able to pick himself and his fight pit operation back up. The Finnigans at his disposal have taken precautions to ensure it never happens again.

Saint, the moment she catches wind of this new operation, immediately schemes to finish what she started.

The Meet

Saint calls the only person she can trust with her plans. Neznayka has, perhaps against her better judgment, previously promised to help Saint take her revenge, if it would make her feel better. Saint gives her the information and tells her she plans to act as soon as possible, and it's by a small miracle that Neznayka convinces her to at least wait for help scouting and planning. After several reassurances that she absolutely will not immediately go on a suicide mission, Neznayka hangs up and calls Oberon, asking him to fulfill the favor he owes her from the night of B Positive, Young Vampire.

The three meet up on a non-descript corner of the Redmond barrens to discuss strategy. Oberon assenses his comrades and finds Saint's aura thin and smoldering hot. Saint shares the location of Liam McAllister's newly minted fight pit on the border of Seattle, and the three begin plotting.

Afterwards, Oberon mentions his experience with Red Ledger to Saint, who asks him to tell her everything. Already she thinks of the next hunt.

The Plan

A quick assense while driving by reveals to Oberon though a few potent spirits are around, there is no ward surrounding the location that might prove to be a barrier to the aspiring assassins - he does still, however, want a very thorough look at the gentleman himself. Neznayka and Oberon hatch a scheme - Oberon turns himself into a rat, and Neznayka slips him comfortably inside of a biofiber pocket. Saint provides some nooj to afford the exorbitant 500 nuyen price tag, and Neznayka takes a seat in the bleachers, sticking out only a little in the crowd. Oberon is able to assense the target as he steps onto the field for opening ceremonies, and discovers through his mundane mask that he is an Aware, one who happens to also have a pact with a plant spirit for optimal regeneration.

Meanwhile, Nez's ace squad of trained rats scour the stadium for more information. Narrowly finding the restraint to avoid poisoned bait, they are able to provide Neznayka on their return to the outside with a definitive map of the stadium, as well as all its dark little corners. Most notably, it turns out that the twelve-foot razorwire fence meant to keep people out is fitted with a seismic sensor to detect any major movement. Saint, unphased, is convinced she can make a clean jump right over it.

Nonetheless, more prudent voices prevail, and after Oberon and Saint's sharp eyes spot out a suspicious looking camper at the top of one of the few buildings in the area with a clear line of sight over the field, they deign to investigate. Inside, a cursory glance shows nothing strange - it looks like your normal barrens squatter's hotel. Save for the fact that every single one of them is armed, that is. Neznayka, somehow the closest to a normal human being out of the three runners, climbs the stairs until she comes across a locked door. She knocks - and someone answers. Thinking swiftly, Neznayka bluffs that she's here to deliver the simsense that someone ordered - and, well, though the guy can't remember, they do order a lot of things up there. She produces a datachip filled with simsense recordings of bear noises, and they let her move along. The three are unanimous - this is a Finnigan safehouse, and a sniper watches from the rooftop to prevent any razorgirl related incidents from happening again.

No matter what, they know that the fight pit only sells tickets on Fridays. They've missed their brief window of opportunity for this week. Oberon opts for a little extra credit and follows Liam after-hours to potentially discover a routine and further weaknesses, but unfortunately finds that his home is even more well defended than the stadium. Short of eavesdropping on a moment of intimacy between Liam and his boyfriend, nothing that might supplement the assassination attempt is found. To that end, however, and after putting their heads together, the three hatch a plan.

• Step 1: Neznayka once again purchases a ticket to enter the stadium, and waits until the right moment to provide combat support to Saint. She also serves as a small distraction away from more important areas of the operation - she is the picture of a Vory princess, after all, and the Finnigans might take notice with a little extra effort.
• Step 2: Oberon ascends the building, incapacitates the sniper, and uses the scope to cast a suggestion on ringmaster Liam McAllister during his opening ceremony: "You need to use the restroom. You should use the restroom." He will then convey that information via subvocal transmitter to the rest of the team.
• Step 3: Saint procures a small ramp, drags it to a blind spot, and skates at it, full speed ahead. She clears the fence and immediately begins sneaking toward the restroom, where she will hole up in a stall with an Out of Order sign until Oberon gives his signal.

The Run

The runners act on their plan, to the letter. Saint, dressed up in her carbon black FBA and joined by three rats and Neznayka's crossbow tucked safely into her bag, leaps cleanly over the fence and, after dodging some security, ducks into the restroom. She slaps the Out of Order sign on the door and hides inside, waiting for Oberon's signal.

Neznayka enters the stadium legitimately, pays her money for a ticket, and takes her seat, similarly positioned for Oberon to begin the plan.

The nocturna climbs, invisible and gecko gripped, and arrives at the top, still hidden and unmade. A quick glance at the sniper shows that they seem to be wearing a hat with trodes. Oberon swipes the hat, instantly nerve strikes the sniper, whose cyberlimbs twitch alongside their motionless torso, and snatches up their rifle. Lying beside them, he scans the field, finds Liam McAllister, and quite literally works his magic.

The moment their mark finishes his prayer, turns to his boys, and announces that he needs to make a stop on the way to their next destination, Oberon announces success on his end over the subvocal transmitter. Saint prepares by huffing lots of drugs. Neznayka begins making her way toward the restrooms as well.

Thankfully, Saint has chosen the correct men's room, closest to the field. Liam enters, pulls up to the urinal, and very swiftly finds a smoke grenade hurled over the stall. Saint flips on the thermographic vision on her contacts, kicks down the stall door, and slashes Liam mercilessly across the back, knocking him to the ground. Though the target screams and tries to scramble to his feet, in these swift and hectic moments, Saint mercilessly swipes at him again - and the screams stop as the shape of a man in her thermos becomes the abstract borders of rapidly pooling blood.

His goons finally have their weapons in hand, turn, and fire - as well as Neznayka, who arrives at the bathroom door around this point in time. Saint stands firm. Her FBA absorbs the bullets without care, while Neznayka hides behind and fires around her, incapacitating the other two with skilled shots from her miniature crossbows.

The immediate issue dealt with, Saint swiftly twirls her katanas in her grip, plants them at either side of his neck, and decapitates her target. She is wary of his regeneration, and kicks his head to the side of the room with spite.

Job done but escape not ensured, Neznayka and Saint roll out to the sound of shouts, alarms, and the distant rumble of a rigger's pride and joy. Neznayka takes her fully-sized crossbow from Saint's bag and fires to help clear their way, while Saint, lips twitching, rolls forward, blurs into the greasy streak of an ink brush, and swirls swords at the crowd, still unsated. Neznayka, hobbling, chides her, and Saint rolls away, flings a grenade at the crowd, and finally visually notices the very large, armored vehicle rolling up to block their exit. The razorgirl narrowly dodges, and decides with a glance toward Neznayka struggling to move that it really is time to go. She sweeps her feet, catches Nez in her arms, and skates back and around to climb the bleachers - where she skates upward and leaps off the top, tucking and rolling into the parking lot asphalt beyond the fence. With a clean break and another superhuman dodge of the rigger's deadly shots, she rolls to her feet and continues skating, only a little worse for wear.

Oberon, for his part, slowly descends the skyscraper with the gun as his prize, completely unnoticed from start to finish.

Aftermath

The trio bug out - Neznayka gets in touch with a contact of hers to set up a safe house for the next few days while the Finns settle down, and the three of them settle in at a nondescript Barrens motel that is very good at keeping its mouth shut.

Neznayka and Oberon part amicably - she helped him hide some remains, and he helps her create some. They promise to keep each other in mind as she moves to check on Saint, who is, on the contrary, in the middle of a break down. She stares at the ceiling with a forced smile, already speaking in practical and reverent terms of who might be next on her list. Neznayka, concerned for obvious reasons, reminds Saint of her earlier promise - one night away from her hunt. One night dedicated to herself, rather than dedicating herself to the demise of others.

Saint reminds herself to check back with Oberon regarding his admitted experience with Red Ledger.

Rewards (Deadly - 20 RVP)

• 15 Karma (15 RVP)
• 12 CDP (5 RVP + Base)

Optionals:

• For Oberon - 4k nuyen for selling a rifle (2 RVP)
• For Oberon - A baseball cap that says "Bald as Shit" across the front of it. Trodes included!
• For Oberon - Perceptive at Chargen Rates, for providing overwatch and spotting out problems before they came
• For Neznayka - First Impression at Chargen Rates, for selling a guy on bears and for successfully delivering one (1) datachip containing bear noises
• For Saint - Tough as Nails (1) at Chargen Rates, for getting shot, fragged, and jumping off bleachers
• This run counts as an ascension ordeal for Neznayka and Saint. (Sorry, Oberon.)

Consequences:

• -10 Finnigan Reputation for Saint.
• -2 Vory Reputation for Neznayka.
• Saint's bounty with the Finnigans increases by 50,000 nuyen.
• Saint has earned the enmity of a mage with access to divination magic.

Game Quotes

"Twink-ify me, Captain!" -LHOG

"We're gonna Tony Hawk over the fence." -jit

"oooOOOOoo you have to piss SOOO BAAADD" -sleevey

"I guess Oberon takes the 'Bald as Shit' hat off of this guy." -Sarcarian

"Okay, so Saint goes to run up the bleachers, but they're kind of packed with people." -LHOG "Ah. Difficult terrain." -jit

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Saint

He's dead...! Three years later - he's finally dead... And there ain't nothing inside of me proud of it. S'fine. Burn in Hell, Liam. You've got every Red Ledger fragger and Chrome Crash wash up coming right behind ya.

... And every frozen Vory fuck too. For Nez.